E. field due to a hollow spherical conductor containing a point charge (NOT centred)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the electric field outside a hollow spherical conductor containing a point charge located within a non-uniform cavity. It is established that the point charge induces a redistribution of charges on the inner surface of the conductor, attracting negative charges and repelling positive charges. The key conclusion is that the outer electric field can be treated as if the point charge were at the center of the sphere, provided the charge distribution on the outer surface remains uniform. The position of the point charge and the shape of the cavity do not affect the external electric field, which can be calculated using the formula E = k(q1)(q2)/(r^2) or Gauss's law.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electric fields and point charges
  • Familiarity with Gauss's law
  • Knowledge of charge distribution in conductors
  • Basic principles of electrostatics
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the application of Gauss's law in various geometries
  • Explore the concept of electric field due to non-uniform charge distributions
  • Learn about the behavior of conductors in electrostatic equilibrium
  • Investigate the effects of cavity shapes on electric fields within conductors
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physics students, electrical engineers, and anyone interested in electrostatics and electric field calculations involving conductors and point charges.

PhorTuenti
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Imagine an uncharged spherical conductor centered at the origin
has a hole of some strange shape carved out inside it, and a charge
q is placed somewhere within this hole. What is the field outside the
sphere?

Is it even possible to determine the electric field simply from the given information? Or is the position of the electric charge key to calculating the field?

The point charge (say it is positive) will attract all negative charge toward the inner (randomly shaped) surface of the sphere, while repelling positive charge to the outside surface of the sphere. This is clear. However, are the outer (positive) charges uniformly distributed across the sphere regardless of where the cavity's shape and position of the point charge, hence allowing the calculation of electric field outside the sphere to be considered equal to a point charge located at the center of the sphere. Or does the charge location and inner shape of the sphere affect the field outside the sphere? if yes, how? can we still calculate the charge simply by considering the actual position of the point charge to be the distance with which we calculate E=(k(q1)(q2))/(r^2)?
 
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Is this like a cavity that is not connected to the open air outside like a tunnel.
If its not then you would just use Gauss's law and the charge enclosed to find the E field.
 

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