Electric Field of Spherical Conductors Connected by Wire

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the electric field generated by two equal-sized spherical conductors that are connected by a wire, with charge placed on one of the conductors. Participants are exploring the implications of charge distribution and electric field lines in this setup.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to reason that the conductors share charge due to their connection, suggesting that each would have half of the total charge and that electric field lines would emanate from both spheres. Other participants affirm this reasoning, indicating a vector sum of the fields from both spheres.

Discussion Status

The discussion appears to be progressing with participants affirming the original poster's reasoning about charge sharing and electric field representation. However, there is no explicit consensus on the details of the electric field configuration.

Contextual Notes

Participants are operating under the assumption that the conductors are identical and connected, which influences their reasoning about charge distribution and electric field behavior.

patm95
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Homework Statement



Two equal sized spherical conductors are connected with a wire. Charge is placed in one conductor. What is the electric field look like?


Homework Equations



E=q/4pi*ep*r^2

The Attempt at a Solution



I think that since these two conductors are connected by a wire, that they would have to share the charge. There would be electric field lines coming out of each sphere and that each sphere would have 1/2 of the total charge that was placed in the first sphere. Is this the correct way to reason this problem? Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
yup!
 
I think you are wright.
It is a vector sum of two spheres.
 
Great! Thanks!
 

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