- #1
Papikoss
- 10
- 3
Suppose that we have a wire that connects the two poles of a DC battery. The current produced indicates the presence of some Electric Field within the wire, having a constant magnitude and a direction that follows its path.
Now the question is : What is the source of that Electric Field?
The way I see it, it can’t be the charges that accumulate in the poles of the battery, for if that was true, the Electric Field would resemble the field of a dipole, diminishing at higher distances (but the wire could extend hundreds of meters away from the battery).
So is it the moving charges themselves that produce the Electric Field within the wire?
If that’s the case, could someone give me a qualitative description of how such a field develops?
Moreover, how could it be that the same sources (usually electrons) produce no Electric Field outside the wire?
Any help much appreciated.
Now the question is : What is the source of that Electric Field?
The way I see it, it can’t be the charges that accumulate in the poles of the battery, for if that was true, the Electric Field would resemble the field of a dipole, diminishing at higher distances (but the wire could extend hundreds of meters away from the battery).
So is it the moving charges themselves that produce the Electric Field within the wire?
If that’s the case, could someone give me a qualitative description of how such a field develops?
Moreover, how could it be that the same sources (usually electrons) produce no Electric Field outside the wire?
Any help much appreciated.