Basic Electrostatics System
012–07227A
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Analysis
1. What produced the charge distributions at each step of the experiment?
2. Why did any charge remain on the second sphere even after it was grounded?
Extra Things to Try
1. To show that the charge on a conductor always resides on the outside surface,
bend a flexible sheet of metal into a cylinder. Charge the cylinder and measure
the charge density in the inner and outer surfaces. Notice that charge is always
on the outside.
2. To show how the surface shape affects charge density, try touching two charged
proof planes together so that they are symmetrical around their point of contact.
Measure the charge on each. Next touch them in an asymmetrical manner and
measure the charge in each. Does any have more charge than the other? Which
one? (Care should be taken to eliminate stray charges from necks and handles,
to prevent erroneous readings.)
Figure 2.2 Test of Different Sampling Configurations
Symmetric Planes
Asymmetric Planes