A student has a battery with emf ε and two uncharged capacitors with capacitances 2C and 3C. The student also has plenty of connecting wires. What is the highest voltage that can be obtained using this equipment?

We received relatively few correct solutions to our December Challenge, For want of a nail…* We are pleased to recognize the following successful solvers:

  • Philip Blanco (Grossmont College, El Cajon, CA)

  • Phil Cahill (The SI Organization, Inc., Rosemont, PA)

  • Daniel Cartin (Naval Academy Preparatory School, Middetown, RI)

  • Don Easton (Lacombe, Alberta, Canada)

  • Franky A. M. Lumbantobing (STKIP Surya, Tangerang, Indonesia)

  • Matthew W. Milligan (Farragut High School, Knoxville, TN)

  • Francisco Pham (The Westwood School, Dallas, TX)

  • Jia Ping (Suzhou Science and Technology Foreign Language High School, Suzhou, China)

  • Krzysztof Rębilas (Uniwersytet Rolniczy im. Hugona Kołłątaja w Krakowie, Kraków, Poland)

  • Pascal Renault (John Tyler Community College, Midlothian, VA)

  • Randall J. Scalise...

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