Thomson problem
Max distance configuration for N points on a sphere / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The objective of the Thomson problem is to determine the minimum electrostatic potential energy configuration of N electrons constrained to the surface of a unit sphere that repel each other with a force given by Coulomb's law. The physicist J. J. Thomson posed the problem in 1904[1] after proposing an atomic model, later called the plum pudding model, based on his knowledge of the existence of negatively charged electrons within neutrally-charged atoms.
Related problems include the study of the geometry of the minimum energy configuration and the study of the large N behavior of the minimum energy.