Re: funny capacitor

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

At 05:50 PM 3/6/01 -0500, Bob Sciamanda wrote:

> Consider our old friend the single, isolated conductor and its
> description:
> Q = C V, where C = C11, the only Cij of this one-conductor system.
> Let's make it a sphere of radius a.  Then if V is referred to infinity
> C=4*PI*epsilon*a.
> OTOH if V is referred to a space-point located  a distance 2a from the
> sphere's center, then C=8*PI*epsilon*a.

Nice try, but alas that violates the defining relationship
        Cij := delta Qi / delta Vj              (all Vk const except Vj)

because the voltage of the "object" at infinity is changing when the V of
the sphere changes.