What happens to an electron created inside a conductor in an electric field?

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
6 replies · 2K views
BrINClHOF
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Heres's the situation:

A neutron enters a block of Gadolinium, it gets absorbed at some point and emits an electron via internal conversion. This electron has an energy of 72 keV (most probable interaction).

If the Gd block is in an electric field, what describes the motion of the electron?

Will it be accelerated through the Gd in the direction of the field and get trapped on the surface? or will it have enough energy to be emitted? (this occurs if there is no E field, assuming a thin enough piece of Gd)

Does it depend on the strength of the E field?

I don't even know what keywords to start looking for to find more about this.

In Summary: Electron is generated INSIDE a conductor that has an electric field applied to it-what happens to that electron?

If anyone has any equations or papers regarding something like this, I'd really appreciate it.

EDIT: Thinking more about it, I know there is no E Field inside a conductor, so would it have no affect? That seems counter intuitive to me. My brain hurts
 
Physics news on Phys.org


A conductor will shield an external static E field.
The electron will rapidly migrate to the surface of the conductor.
 


Meir Achuz said:
A conductor will shield an external static E field.
The electron will rapidly migrate to the surface of the conductor.

So the electron rapidly mitigates to the surface. Will it be ejected from the surface? Will it take a linear path to the surface or be heavily scattered? What gauges the acceleration, does it obey F=qE even inside of the conductor?

I have used CASINO (monte carlo sim) to model an electrons path in the metal, but that's only with an initial energy, not with an electric field inside, which I'm assuming just accelerates the electron in the direction of the field.
 


The electron will stay on the surface of the conductor.
The only electric field inside the conductor is due to the surface charge induced by the electron. The electron trajectory is easily found or a spherical conductor. I am not familar with CASINO, but it might be all you need. The external field does not enter the conductor.
 


Meir Achuz said:
The electron will stay on the surface of the conductor.
The only electric field inside the conductor is due to the surface charge induced by the electron.
When the electron is inside the conductor for that brief amount of time there will be an E field
inside produced from the electron. But when the electron has made it to the surface there will be no E field inside the conductor. Or am i wrong.
 


cragar said:
When the electron is inside the conductor for that brief amount of time there will be an E field
inside produced from the electron. But when the electron has made it to the surface there will be no E field inside the conductor. Or am i wrong.
I think we agree. The E field in the conductor for the short time the electron is inside, is due to the electron charge and to the varying surface charge due to the electron's field. When the electron is on the surface. The surface charge adjusts so there is no E field inside.