離れる and 離す: moving away and letting go
Distinguish distance between people from releasing a held hand, comparing から for the starting point with を for the separated object.
Move away from a dangerous place
線路から離れてください。 asks someone to move away from the tracks. から with 離れる, read はなれる, marks the point to move away from.
家族と離れて暮らしています。 says that someone lives apart from their family. It can describe separate living locations without implying that family ties have ended.
Separate things that are close together
机を壁から少し離しました。 says that someone moved the desk a little away from the wall. 離す, read はなす, marks the desk with を and the wall with から.
二つの鉢を離して置いてください。 asks someone to place two pots apart. It means leaving space between them, not dropping and breaking them.
Ask someone not to let go
人が多いので、子どもの手を離さないでください。 asks someone not to let go of the child's hand in a crowd. 離さない negates releasing the hand.
話す in 友達と話す is also read はなす but means speaking. Distinguish releasing in 手を離す from conversation with 話す by the spelling and object.
Does 二つの鉢を離して置く mean dropping the pots so that they break?
Show the answer and why
No. It means placing the two pots with space between them. 離す describes spatial separation here.