(Sequential touching of three spheres) Three identical small metal spheres and are…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Electric Charges and Fields · Electric Charges and Fields

Problem

(Sequential touching of three spheres) Three identical small metal spheres

A,\;B

and

C

are initially placed far from one another. Their initial charges are

+10\,\mu\text{C},\;-4\,\mu\text{C}

and

+2\,\mu\text{C}

respectively. The following operations are performed in sequence: 1. Spheres

A

and

B

are touched together and then separated. 2. Sphere

B

is now touched with sphere

C

and then separated. 3. Finally, sphere

C

is touched with sphere

A

and separated once again. Assume no charge is lost to the surroundings at any stage. (i) Find the charge on each of the two spheres immediately after step 1. (ii) Determine the charge on each of the two spheres immediately after step 2. (iii) Calculate the final charges on spheres

A,\;B

and

C

after step 3. (iv) Show that the total charge of the three-sphere system is unchanged after every step.

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