Two iron spheres contain excess charge, one positive and the other negative. a) Show how the charges are arranged on these spheres if they are very far from each other. b) if the spheres are now brought close to each other, but do not touch, sketch how the charges will be distributed on their surfaces. c) In part b)show how the charges would be distributed if both spheres were negative.
a) When the two iron spheres are very far from each other, the charges on them will be uniformly distributed on their surfaces. The positive sphere will have an excess of positive charges evenly spread out over its surface, while the negative sphere will have an excess of negative charges uniformly spread out over its surface.
b) When the spheres are brought close to each other but do not touch, the charges on their surfaces will redistribute in response to the electric field between them. The positive charges on the positive sphere will repel the positive charges on the negative sphere, causing them to redistribute on their respective surfaces. Similarly, the negative charges on the negative sphere will repel the negative charges on the positive sphere, causing them to redistribute on their respective surfaces. As a result of this repulsion, the charges will accumulate on the side of the spheres that faces away from each other, leading to an excess of positive charges on one side and an excess of negative charges on the other side.
c) If both spheres are negative, the charges will still redistribute as described above. However, since both spheres have an excess of negative charges, there will be an intensified repulsion between them. This would lead to a more pronounced accumulation of negative charges on the side of each sphere facing away from the other sphere, resulting in a stronger repulsive force between the two spheres.