Jack: Don't see how: "The voltage across the two capacitors after the reconnection is not V/2. It is V/sqrt2. This can be easily checked by test and correct algebra." can be correct. You now have TWICE the capacitance and 1/SQR(2) the voltage. The CHARGE (C*V) is thus 2*C*V/SQR(2), or 1.414 etc times the original charge of CV! Can't be, as charge is most certainly conserved. Ed Phillips