Exploring the Distribution of Charge on a Conducting Shell

In summary, the conversation discusses the location of excess charge on a conducting shell and why it is only found on the outer surface, rather than the inner surface. The use of Gauss's Law is mentioned as a means of determining this. The concept of a uniform charge density on the inner surface is also brought up, but it is explained that this would not result in any repulsion unless there is a non-zero electrical field. The conversation ends by questioning the electrical field inside a uniform spherical charge distribution.
  • #1
pixel
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It’s been a long time since I took E&M courses and even thought about these things, but a current thread has led me to question the location of excess charge on a conducting shell. Given that there are two surfaces to which charge can move, why doesn’t some charge also locate on the inner surface? Other than that it is on the outside, what makes the outer surface different from the inner surface as far as determining where charge locates?

I know from Gauss’s Law that the charge must be on the outer surface. I’m just looking for a physical/intuitive reason, hence the B prefix on this thread.
 
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  • #2
Intuitive reason? Imagine that we were to place charged particles on the inner surface in such a way that there was a uniform charge density on the inner surface. The charged particles would all be repelling one another, so they would experience a net outwards force... And that pushes them to the outer surface.
 
  • #3
Nugatory said:
Intuitive reason? Imagine that we were to place charged particles on the inner surface in such a way that there was a uniform charge density on the inner surface. The charged particles would all be repelling one another, so they would experience a net outwards force... And that pushes them to the outer surface.

Yes, so charge can't just be on inner surface. But couldn't we still consider charge on both the inner and outer surfaces such that the mutual repulsion was keeping them separated?
 
  • #4
pixel said:
But couldn't we still consider charge on both the inner and outer surfaces such that the mutual repulsion was keeping them separated?
You won't get any repulsion unless there is a non-zero electrical field. All points on the interior surface are inside of the uniform spherical distribution of charge on the exterior surface. What is the electrical field inside of a uniform spherical charge distribution?
 

What is the meaning of charge on a conducting shell?

The charge on a conducting shell refers to the net amount of electrical charge present on the surface of a hollow, metallic object. This charge is usually caused by the redistribution of electrons on the surface of the shell due to an external electric field or the presence of other charged objects nearby.

How is the charge distributed on a conducting shell?

The charge on a conducting shell is distributed uniformly on its surface. This means that each point on the surface of the shell has the same amount of charge per unit area. This is due to the repulsion of like charges, which causes the charge to spread out evenly on the surface.

What happens to the charge on a conducting shell when an external electric field is applied?

When an external electric field is applied to a conducting shell, the electrons on the surface of the shell will redistribute to cancel out the effects of the external field. This results in a redistribution of charge on the surface, but the net charge on the shell remains the same.

Can a conducting shell have a net charge of zero?

Yes, a conducting shell can have a net charge of zero. This can occur when the shell is placed in an electrically neutral environment, or when the net charge on the shell is balanced out by an equal and opposite charge on another object nearby.

How does the charge on a conducting shell affect the electric field inside and outside of the shell?

The charge on a conducting shell has no effect on the electric field inside the shell, as the electric field inside a conductor is always zero. However, the charge on the shell can affect the electric field outside of the shell, as it can act as a source of electric field lines or alter the direction or strength of an external electric field.

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