What is Electric Field on a grounded structure?

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
2 replies · 2K views
RobMisi
Suppose we have an energized conductor say 10m above the ground, my understanding is that E Field at the ground will be 0 v/m. My question is, if we have say 8m tall steel tower approximately 3m from the energized conductor and grounded. What is the electrical field on this grounded steel structure near the energized conductor? close to zero or very high?

if it is high, how can we explain this?
Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
RobMisi said:
Suppose we have an energized conductor say 10m above the ground, my understanding is that E Field at the ground will be 0 v/m. My question is, if we have say 8m tall steel tower approximately 3m from the energized conductor and grounded. What is the electrical field on this grounded steel structure near the energized conductor? close to zero or very high?

if it is high, how can we explain this?
Thanks

Safety note: If you are thinking of putting a mast near a power line, don't.
 
I would appreciate some clarification of the following:
1. Why do you say that the electric field at the ground is 0 V/m?
2. While potentials on conductors can be specified, the electric fields near conductors are highly dependent on the charge distribution on the surface of the conductor, so I believe you should be rather specific about the shapes and potentials of each conductor in your problem. Once these are specified, the electric field can be worked out by standard methods of solving boundary value problems.
For example, if you have a grounded plate (0V) and a pin poised above it, at 10 V, the electric field at the tip of the pin can be very large if the pin is close enough to the grounded plate.