Understanding Conducting Solids: Exploring the E-field Phenomenon

[yinx]

pardon me for asking such silly question.

Why is it that the E-field in the interior of a conducting solid zero? even when the conducting solid have excess positive (or negative) charges?

and this conducting solid is placed in an external E-field, will the E-field in the conducting solid still be E=0?

can someone pls enlighten me?

thanks,
yinx

 

[Vanadium 50]

If the E-field is non-zero, the charges will move. Once the E-field is zero, they will stop moving.

 

[yinx]

how do i prove this mathematically?

 

[yungman]

Electrons move freely inside conductor, any E field exist inside the conductor will immediately move the electrons over to neutralize the field, no math needed for this. Read the part on how the electron move to form an opposing E field inside the conductor if the conductor is put into an external E field. The inside has to be zero.

 

[PJC01]

No need to apologize for asking questions, yinx. That's how we learn and expand our understanding of scientific concepts. To answer your questions, we first need to understand the concept of conductivity. Conductivity is the measure of a material's ability to conduct electricity. In a conducting solid, the electrons are free to move, allowing the flow of electric current.

Now, to your first question, why is the E-field in the interior of a conducting solid zero? This is because in a conducting solid, the excess charges are evenly distributed throughout the material. This means that the positive charges are evenly distributed among the negative charges, resulting in a neutral overall charge. In other words, the electric field created by the excess charges cancel each other out, resulting in a net electric field of zero inside the solid.

Next, if a conducting solid is placed in an external E-field, will the E-field inside the solid still be zero? The answer is no. When a conducting solid is placed in an external E-field, the free electrons in the solid will experience a force due to the external field. This will cause the electrons to move, resulting in a redistribution of the charges in the solid. As a result, the electric field inside the solid will no longer be zero, but it will be affected by the external E-field.

I hope this helps to enlighten you, yinx. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Keep exploring and learning!