True or False: Molecules in a gas resist crowding and get as far apart as possible. Free electrons also resist crowding and get
as far apart as possible. When a tank is filled with gas the molecules distribute themselves more or less uniformly throughout the tank's volume, thereby giving each molecule the maximum possible distance from its nearest neighbors. When a copper ball is charged with electricity, the free electrons will distribute themselves more or less uniformly throughout the ball's volume for much the same reason.
The random nature of gas molecules results in their erratic motion and occasional collisions. While it is true that they tend to avoid being tightly packed, achieving the maximum separation from each other is not always feasible due to their lack of fixed positions. Consequently, gas molecules in a container cannot consistently maintain the furthest distance from their neighboring molecules.
In contrast, the separation among electrons is primarily influenced by repulsive forces, not random movement as in gases. Electrons maintain distance as a result of repulsion between similarly charged particles. Therefore, the arrangement of electrons on a charged copper sphere occurs not from a random distribution but rather due to repulsion, establishing a set distance between them.
