Question

Two small identical conducting spheres are suspended near each other on thin insulating threads of equal length. They are both charged positively but carry a different amount of charge. The spheres are brought momentarily in contact and then left hanging freely again. Has the distance between the spheres increased or decreased?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

It is given that initially sphere has different charges and momentarily brought in contact with each other.

When the spheres are touched then charge is equally redistributed among spheres such that now they possess the equal amount of charges.

When they are suspended from the thread their separation increases compared to previous situation because now the value of force increases because of the change in the product of charges.

For example, Suppose initially they possess 15 C and 17 C charge and after redistribution they both possess 16 C  of charge.

Product of charges$=15\times 17=255$

Final Product of charges$=16\times 16=256$

As force depends upon the Product of the charges so there will be more repulsive force.