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Define electrostatic equilibrium.
A condition where there is no net motion of charge within a conductor. The electric field inside the conductor is zero, and the electric potential is constant throughout.
What is a conductor?
A material that allows electric charge to move freely through it due to the presence of free electrons.
What is electric shielding (or screening)?
The phenomenon where the free electrons in a conductor rearrange themselves to cancel out any external electric field inside the conductor.
Define a Faraday cage.
A conductive enclosure that blocks external electric fields, creating a field-free region inside.
What is electric potential?
The amount of electric potential energy a unitary point charge would have if located at any point in space.
What happens when a conductor is given a charge?
The charges distribute themselves evenly on the surface of the conductor to maximize the distance between them.
What is the effect of an electric field not being perpendicular to a conductor's surface?
It would exert a horizontal force on the charges, causing them to move and disrupting electrostatic equilibrium.
What happens when a conductor is placed in an external electric field?
The electrons rearrange to cancel out the field inside the conductor, creating a shielding effect.
What is the effect of the electric field being zero inside a conductor?
Charges inside the conductor align themselves to create an internal field that perfectly cancels out any external electric field.
What is the effect of surrounding an area with a conductor?
It creates a protected area by blocking out external electric fields (Faraday cage).
Compare the electric field inside and outside a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium.
Inside: Electric field is zero. | Outside: Electric field is perpendicular to the surface and non-zero.
Compare the charge distribution on a conductor with and without an external electric field.
Without field: Charge is evenly distributed on the surface. | With field: Charge redistributes to cancel the field inside.
Compare electric potential and electric field inside a conductor.
Electric Field: Always zero inside a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium. | Electric Potential: Constant, but not necessarily zero, inside a conductor.
Compare the behavior of conductors and insulators in an electric field.
Conductors: Charges move freely to cancel the field. | Insulators: Charges do not move freely; they polarize.
Compare the electric field inside a Faraday cage to the electric field outside.
Inside: Electric field is zero. | Outside: Electric field exists and is influenced by the cage's shape and any external charges.