Item 8:

A capacitor consists basically of two large metallic surfaces with a separating isolating and rather thin medium. When charged the density of oppositely charged charge carriers on both surfaces can be very large due to the strong attractive Coulomb forces between them and the small distance.

If the capacitor is shorted by some external wires a process of discharge will be initiated in spite of the strong attracting forces between the charge carriers within the capacitor.

Question:

What is the cause that initiates this process of discharge?

Chose one of the following statements which correspond with what you know about this process.

1) The attracting Coulomb forces are overcome by internal atomic forces between electrons and lattice ions at the point where the external wires are shorted.
2) The process of discharge of the capacitor is caused by a pressure which exists perpendicular to the field lines within the capacitor.
3) The process of discharge of the capacitor is due to surface charges on the external wires.
4) The repulsion between charge carriers of the same polarity on each single plate is stronger than the attractive forces between the charge carriers
of opposite charge on opposite plates.

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