Electrostatics of two suspended spheres

Abstract

Although the working principle of a traditional electroscope with thin metal deflection foils is simple, one needs numerical methods to calculate its foil's deflection. If the electroscope is made of hanging spheres instead of foils, then it is possible to obtain an analytical solution. Since the separation of the charged spheres is of the order of their radius the spheres cannot be described as point charges. We apply the method of image charges to find the electrostatic force between the spheres and then we relate the voltage applied to their separation. We also discuss the similarity with the sphere-plane electrostatic problem. This approach can be used as an analytical solution for practical problems in the field of electrodynamics and its complexity is compatible with undergraduate courses.

Keywords

• electroscope
• electrometer
• method of image
• image charge
• electrostatic
• sphere-sphere