The electric field inside a shell with a charge at the center?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the behavior of electric fields within a hollow conducting cylinder containing an off-center infinite line of uniform charge. It is established that the electric field inside the conductor is zero due to the induced charges creating dipoles that perfectly cancel the field from the line charge. This phenomenon occurs because the distribution of induced charges adjusts to ensure that any internal electric field is neutralized, preventing current flow within the conductor. The conclusion emphasizes that the absence of an electric field inside a conductor is a fundamental principle in electrostatics.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electrostatics principles, particularly Gauss's Law.
  • Familiarity with electric fields and their behavior in conductors.
  • Knowledge of charge distribution and induced charges in conductors.
  • Basic grasp of dipole moments and their effects on electric fields.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study Gauss's Law and its applications to cylindrical symmetry.
  • Explore the concept of electric field lines and their significance in electrostatics.
  • Learn about induced charges and their role in electrostatic shielding.
  • Investigate the behavior of electric fields in different geometries, such as spherical and planar conductors.
USEFUL FOR

Students preparing for AP Physics C E&M, physics educators, and anyone interested in understanding electrostatics and electric field behavior in conductors.

wil3
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Hello. I am preparing for the AP Physics C E&M exam, and I am trying to understand the solution to 2004-1

The problem provides an infinite line of uniform charge per unit length enclosed within an infinite hollow conducting cylinder with a fixed radius and no net charge. The line of charge within the tube is off center.

In one of the parts of the question, it asks to draw all field lines an induced charges. I correctly drew the induced dipoles within the metal shell, but the answer key says that there is no field between these dipoles (ie, field is zero everywhere within the conductor)

How is this possible? The best qualitative explanation I can come up with is that at any point within the solid conductor, the field due to the dipole is exactly canceled out by the field due to the line of charge (ie, even though the dipole is closer, the charge is less because it has been mitigated by being evenly distributed over the surface. I'm guessing that the loss of charge is exactly proportional to the decrease in radius to the charge, so that the dipole vector is equal and opposite the field vector from just the line)

Can someone give a qualitative or quantitative explanation of what is happening here?
 
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Logically,

If there were a net electric field in a conductor then it would be moving the electrons inside, and if it moves the electrons inside, there is current. But an isolated conductor does not carry a perpetual current so there cannot be an electric field inside.

The electrons are moved into such a distribution that all the electric field vectors cancel, which is something like what you described.

I'm guessing you self-studied the material because I think in classes people just memorize that the electric field in a conductor is zero (although I don't know, I'm self-teaching this stuff too).
 

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