Suppose each plate of a parallel plate capacitor carries a charge q . The capacitor is subsequently connected to a battery. Following this connection,

Step-by-step solution

Let the initial charge on each plate of the capacitor be q . When a battery is connected across the capacitor, it transfers charge from one plate to the other. If the battery transfers a charge Q , it delivers +Q to one plate and -Q to the other. Thus, the battery delivers equal and opposite charges to the two plates. The final charges on the two plates become q₁ = q + Q and q₂ = q - Q . Since q 0 , the total charges on the two plates are not equal and opposite. The charge on the outer surfaces of the plates is alw