Gauss's Law and a hollow metal cylinder

AI Thread Summary
Gauss's Law is applied to a scenario involving a long wire and a hollow metal cylinder, where the wire has a charge per unit length of lambda and the cylinder has a charge of 2lambda. The discussion clarifies that the electric field inside the hollow cylinder is zero, despite the presence of the charged wire, due to the properties of conductors. The confusion arises regarding the definition of "inside the surface" of the cylinder, which refers to the space within the metal of the cylinder rather than the hollow interior. The participants seek to understand how the charges distribute on the cylinder's surfaces and the implications for the electric field outside. This analysis highlights the importance of understanding electric fields in conductive materials and their behavior according to Gauss's Law.
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Homework Statement



A long, straight wire is surrounded by a hollow metal cylinder whose axis coincides with that of the wire. The wire has a charge per unit length of lambda, and the cylinder has a net charge per unit length of 2lambda. From this information, use Gauss's law to find (a) the charge per unit length on the inner and outer surfaces of the cylinder and (b) the electric field outside the cylinder, a distance r from the axis.



The Attempt at a Solution



My book says inside the surface, E field is 0. But I don't understand, isn't the wire a conductor spreading E fields of its own?

[PLAIN]http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8741/98449368.jpg
 
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Is inside the shell not the same as being on the surface of the shell?
 
maybe that "inside the surface" means that inside the metal of shell (the thin layer)
 
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