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When the conductors are connected by a conducting wire they form an equipotential surface.
The charges redistribute themselves t o minimise the potential. Let qi’, 42’ be the charges of the
conductors in the new state of equilibrium. Since no charge is lost, we must have
The amount by which the energy is lowered is therefore W - W’; for a = b, this is
Solution: It is easiest to obtain the potential of the spheres from the Gauss law,
J E . d F = 47rk
J p(r’)dr’ = 4nkQ,