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Is it possible to discharge a cap by touching ONLY ONE terminal?
Question clearly implies NO connection to other terminal, but to another surface with opposite charge.
Anonymous i think question does imply that since if you're touching only one terminal, it is obvious you are connecting it to another surface and it's logical that that surface is of different potential for discharge to occur.
I was thinking the same that it will only partially discharge due to attraction of the opposite terminal BUT if the plate you termed C is of higher potential than plate B it is logical ALL of charge from B will flow.
It is even possible all charge will flow from A to C if C is somewhat at lower potential than B because there is no dielectric between A and C and current can flow freely.
2 Answers
- Anonymous3 years agoFavorite Answer
" Question clearly implies NO connection to other terminal, but to another surface with opposite charge."
The question implies no such thing.
However, suppose capacitor has plates A and B with plate A negative and plate B positive.
It you touch terminal A and you are coonected to a separate positively charged plate (C), then some of the charge will leave A and flow to C. But not all the charge leaves A because the charge on B exerts an attractive force on the charge on A. This force prevents A completelt losing all its charge.
- MorningfoxLv 73 years ago
Yes, if there is a path to the other terminal. For example, you might be touching another metal part, which has a circuit to the terminal that you aren't touching.
