Gauss’s law also helps us locate charge on conductors. There are several distinct pieces we need for this, listed below. Explain briefly why is each of them true. (a) The electric field inside a conductor (in the conducting material) is zero if the conductor is in static equilibrium (charges are not moving or at least not accelerating.) (b) The total charge on an isolated conductor (or, really, any object) is constant. (c) The net charge on the wall of a cavity in a conductor is equal to the opposite of the total charge that is floating inside the cavity. (d) Any excess charge on a conductor is all at the surfaces - including both the outer surface of the
Gauss’s law also helps us locate charge on conductors. There are several distinct pieces we need for
this, listed below. Explain briefly why is each of them true.
(a) The electric field inside a conductor (in the
static equilibrium (charges are not moving or at least not accelerating.)
(b) The total charge on an isolated conductor (or, really, any object) is constant.
(c) The net charge on the wall of a cavity in a conductor is equal to the opposite of the total charge
that is floating inside the cavity.
(d) Any excess charge on a conductor is all at the surfaces - including both the outer surface of the
conductor and any inner surfaces of cavities - but never in the material.
(e) The charge on the outer surface of a conductor is equal to the total charge on the conductor
and inside any cavities in it.
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