Calculation of resistance. A sphere made of a conducting material with conductivity 0" is connected in a circuit as shown in Figure 7.35a. For connection purposes, the sphere is trimmed and connections made to the flat surfaces created by the cuts. The resistance R and source voltage V are known.
(a) Calculate the potential on the sphere (between points A and B) in terms of the known parameters.
(b) Suppose that instead of cutting the sphere as in Figure 7.35a, the connections are made as in Figure 7.35b. Show that the resistance of the sphere cannot be calculated exactly and comment on the physical meaning of this result.
