Electric field inside a charged conductor

Last updated on August 28th, 2023 at 04:11 am

In this post, we will find the nature of the electric field inside a charged conductor. We will show that the electric field inside a charged conductor is zero.

Also, read how to show that the electric potential inside a charged conductor is constant.

Electric field inside a charged conductor

When a conductor is charged, all charges will move onto the surface of the conductor, and there will be no charge inside the conductor.

Now, if we use Gauss’ theorem, then we can easily find the electric field value inside the charged conductor.

As per Gauss’ theorem, EA = Q/ε₀, where E is the electric field intensity, A = area of the closed surface that encloses the charge, and Q is the charge enclosed by the closed surface.

[Here, electric field lines are taken as perpendicular to the surface.]

Now, as inside the conductor Q = 0,
We can write, EA = 0.
As the area can’t be zero here, so certainly, E = 0.

Thus, using Gauss’ theorem we can easily show that the electric field inside a charged conductor is zero.