Electric Potential due to a charged conductor(sphere within a sphere)

[maiad]

Homework Statement
Two concentric spherical conducting shells of radii a = 0.360 m and b = 0.540 m are connected by a thin wire, as shown in the figure below.

http://capa.physics.mcmaster.ca/figures/sb/Graph25/sb-pic2550.png If a total charge Q = 10.6 µC is placed on the system, how much charge settles on each sphere?

The Attempt at a Solution

I attempted to equate the two sphere's electric potential since it's in electrostatic equilibrium. i Then knew the net charge of the system and the twos sphere's respective radiis. What's confusing me is doe the inner sphere affect the charge of the outer sphere? if it does how so.

 

[JHamm]

Think about where the charge in a solid ball sits.

 

[maiad]

It should sit on the surface of the sphere so... so in inner shell should have it's own charge and I am guessing the larger sphere's charge is it's own charge and the small sphere?

 

[netgypsy]

But the two spheres are connected by a conducting wire.

What do like charges do to each other?

 

[JHamm]

If you have a solid ball of charge and all the charge sits on the surface, then you remove almost all of the insides of that ball and leave only what you have in your diagram, would any charge move to the inside?

 

[maiad]

so why doesn't charges reside on the surface of the inner sphere?

 

[netgypsy]

Again what do like charges do? They get as far apart as they can - they repel. Where can they move so they are the farthest apart?

 

[maiad]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ty guys :)