- #1
jezza10181
- 13
- 1
Hi,
I found the following question in a physics book, and so dusted off my 30yr old knowledge on capacitors and tried to answer it. The question is as follows :-
"Suppose two nearby conductors carry the same negative charge. Can there be a potential difference between them? If so, can the definition of capacitance, C = Q/V, be used here?"
My own answer is that, yes, there can be a potential difference between the conductors, but a no to the second part. There surely cannot be a capacitance type effect between the conductors as the charges are the same, and so would repel each other and therefore not want to 'accumulate'.
What do you think?
I found the following question in a physics book, and so dusted off my 30yr old knowledge on capacitors and tried to answer it. The question is as follows :-
"Suppose two nearby conductors carry the same negative charge. Can there be a potential difference between them? If so, can the definition of capacitance, C = Q/V, be used here?"
My own answer is that, yes, there can be a potential difference between the conductors, but a no to the second part. There surely cannot be a capacitance type effect between the conductors as the charges are the same, and so would repel each other and therefore not want to 'accumulate'.
What do you think?