Two identical metal spheres a and b are in contact. both are initially neutral. 1.0*1012 electrons are added to sphere a, then the two spheres are separated. you may want to review (pages 639 - 641). part a afterward, what is the charge of sphere a?

Question

Gerald Dickerson

Physics

22 February, 20:46

Two identical metal spheres a and b are in contact. both are initially neutral. 1.0*1012 electrons are added to sphere a, then the two spheres are separated. you may want to review (pages 639 - 641). part a afterward, what is the charge of sphere a?

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Vaughn Kidd · Answer 1

Metal is conductive, so electrons will transfer onto sphere b until there is an equal number of electrons on either sphere (the electrical gradient will be zero). This means that 5 x 10^11 electrons will be on either sphere, and since the charge of an electron is 1.602 x 10^-19 Coulombs, multiplying this by the number of electrons gives a charge of 8.01 x 10^-8 Coulombs, or 80.1 nanocoulombs.