If ia charge is placed inside a conductor, is the electric field inside zero?

AI Thread Summary
When a charge is placed inside a conductor or within a cavity of a metal shell, the electric field inside the conductor or shell is zero. This occurs because free electrons in the conductor rearrange to cancel any internal electric fields. The metal shell functions as a Faraday cage, ensuring no electric field exists within it despite the presence of a charge. While there is no electric field in the conducting material, an electric field can exist outside the conductor due to induced charges on its surface. Thus, the electric field is zero inside the conductor or shell, but may be present externally.
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If a charge q was placed inside a cavity inside a metal shell, then inside this shell would there be any electric field??

And since Gauss law says that this metal surface would have an induced charge then a point within the regoin between the cavity and the outer surface of this shell thn would there be any value for electric field at that point?
 
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There will be no electric field within the conducting materials but there will be an electric field in the void and external to the conductors. The reason for zero field within the conducting material is that, statically, it would have led to an infinite amount of charge build up due to current flow.
 


If a charge is placed inside a conductor, the electric field inside the conductor will be zero. This is because the free electrons in the conductor will rearrange themselves in such a way that the electric field inside the conductor is cancelled out.

If a charge q is placed inside a cavity inside a metal shell, the electric field inside the shell will also be zero. This is because the metal shell acts as a Faraday cage, where the charges on the outer surface of the shell will redistribute themselves in such a way that the electric field inside the shell is cancelled out.

According to Gauss's law, the induced charge on the metal surface will create an electric field outside the cavity, between the cavity and the outer surface of the shell. However, at the point between the cavity and the outer surface, the electric field will be zero. This is because the electric field from the induced charge on the metal surface cancels out the electric field from the charge inside the cavity.

In summary, if a charge is placed inside a conductor or inside a cavity inside a metal shell, the electric field inside the conductor or shell will be zero. However, there may be an electric field outside the conductor or shell due to the induced charges on the surface.
 
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