WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Electric Field Generated by a Conducting Spherical Shell Enclosing a Charge

​
inner radius (m)
0
outer radius (m)
5
inner charge (μC)
2
sphere's charge (μC)
-3
show grid
show electric field measurement
inner
outer
surface
surface
q = NA
q = -1. (μC)
σ = NA
σ = -0.003 (μC/
2
m
)
This Demonstration shows a conducting spherical shell surrounding a charge. We can determine the surface density of the charge
σ
. The magnitude of the field outside the conductor is given by
E=
|
q
os
|
4π
ϵ
o
2
r
, where
q
os
is the total charge on the outer surface of the sphere,
ϵ
0
is the permittivity of free space and
r
is the distance from the center of the sphere to the point of measurement. The electric field inside the cavity is given by
E=
|
q
in
|
4π
ϵ
o
2
r
, where
q
in
is the charge inside the cavity. Drag the locator to vary the point of measurement.