# What would happen to charge distribution when two charged, conducting spheres are placed in contact?

I have the following thought experiment. Assume that we have two conducting spheres. Sphere A has a charge of $$+ 10 \ \text{C}$$ and sphere B has a charge of $$+ 8 \ \text{C}$$. Now assume that we place them together so that they make contact. The question is as follows: what happens to the distribution of the charges on the spheres?

I am told that the charges will spread over the outside of both spheres in such a way as to maximise the distances between them. My first thought was that, assuming both spheres have the same number of protons, electrons from the more negatively charged sphere (sphere B) would flow to the more positively charged sphere (sphere A), until the spheres both have equal charge, $$\dfrac{(+ 10 \ \text{C}) + (+ 8 \ \text{C})}{2} = 9 \ \text{C}$$.

What, exactly, is meant by "the charges will spread over the outside of both spheres in such a way as to maximise the distances between them"? And why does this happen?
Also, would my first thought about what would happen be correct (aside from the provided description), or is it incorrect? If it is incorrect, then why?

(It is a different issue that 9C is huge charge. It is more likely to be 9$$\mu C$$)
• Thanks for the answer. Yes, using $\text{C}$ was just for simplification purposes, but, in reality, it would be $\text{$\mu$C}$ instead. With regards to your description of the charge distribution, wouldn't the electrons already seek to do this on each sphere (the electrons would seek to maintain maximal separation from each other, since they're all negatively charged), regardless of contact between the two spheres? Then what difference does the spheres making contact make? May 10 at 22:19