Answer to Question #169052 in Electricity and Magnetism for Francene Tiburcio

Question

Sphere A has an initial charge q0. How many successive contacts an uncharged identical sphere must be made to reduce the charge of sphere A to 1/32 of its initial charge?

Answer 1

Every successive contact with an uncharged identical sphere reduces the half of the charge of sphere A, so, $n=−\text{log}_2​​\frac{1}{32}=5.$