Consider two insulated conductors A and B of capacitances C₁ and C₂, carrying charges Q₁ and Q₂ respectively. Let V₁ and V₂ be their respective potentials, then

Q₁ = C₁V₁ and Q₂ = C₂V₂

_{If the two conductors are joined by thin conducting wire, then their common potential is given by}

_{Common Potential} =Total Charge/Total Capacitance

If after redistribution charges on A and B are Q’₁ and Q’₂ respectively, then

Thus after redistribution, the charges on the two conductors are in the ratio of their capacitances.

Loss of  energy after  redistribution of charges: Let C₁ and C₂ be the capacitances and V₁ and V₂ be the potentials of two conductors before they are connected together. Potential energy before connection is

Loss in energy

U=U_i -U_f

This is always positive whether V₁ > V₂ or V₁ < V₂