Distribution of charge question

[thisisfudd]

If you have a negatively charged conductor (let's say a sphere), are its excess electrons distributed evenly throughout it? I think they are uniformly distributed, but only on the surface. Is this true?

 

[clive]

YES, at equilibrium, the electric charge is distributed on the surface of conductors: inside a conductor the electric field intensity must be 0 => no electric charge (Gauss's law). For a sphere, they are indeed uniformly distributed on its surface but for other geometries the density charge will increase in the regions with smaller curvature radius.

 

[wais]

Yes, this is true. The excess electrons on a negatively charged conductor, such as a sphere, will distribute themselves evenly on the surface of the object. This is due to the repulsion between like charges, causing the electrons to spread out as far as possible from each other. However, the distribution of charge may not be perfectly even on the surface, as there may be areas with slightly higher or lower electron density. But overall, the excess electrons will be evenly spread out on the surface of the conductor.