Limit on Faraday's cage (rearranging charges)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the behavior of charges within a Faraday cage when subjected to an external magnetic field. It is established that the charges in the conductive material rearrange to create an opposing field, resulting in a net field of zero inside the cage, which explains the safety of being in a car during lightning. However, the conversation raises the question of whether a sufficiently strong external field could exceed the finite amount of charges available in the cage, potentially leading to a non-zero net field inside. Participants emphasize the need for specific field strength measurements to further analyze this scenario.

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  • Understanding of electromagnetic theory
  • Familiarity with Faraday's law of induction
  • Knowledge of charge distribution in conductive materials
  • Basic principles of magnetic fields and forces
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  • Explore the effects of varying magnetic field strengths on Faraday cages
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olu
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Having a question regarding Faraday's cage,Applying a magnetic field over the cage, will cause the charges in the conducting cage to rearrange, thus causing another field which opposes the first field. This will give a net field inside the cage of zero (this is why we are safe in a car during a lightning).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage#/media/File:Faraday_cage.gif

However, since we have a finite amount of charges in the conductive cage. Is it possible to apply a field strong enough so that all the charges have rearranged to oppose the field, but with the fact that all the charges is not enough charges to cancel the field, and thus giving a net field inside the cage which is not zero?
Oscar
 
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olu said:
we have a finite amount of charges in the conductive cage.

Could you put a number on that? It could help you to get a handle on what you are saying. What field strengths are you considering? If this isn't a fruitless 'irresistible force and immovable object' type question then you need to supply some orders of magnitude for the causes and effects that you are discussing.
 

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