When a conductor is placed in an electric field; its free charge carri...
- When an external electric field is applied to the conductor, the free electrons in the conductor move in an opposite direction to that of the applied electric field.
- This movement of electrons induces another electric field inside the conductor which opposes the original external electric field.
- This continues until the induced electric field cancels out the external field.
View all questions of this test
When a conductor is placed in an electric field; its free charge carri...
Explanation:
When a conductor is placed in an electric field, its free charge carriers (electrons) adjust themselves in order to oppose the electric field. This is known as shielding effect.
The shielding effect occurs because the electric field applies a force on the free electrons in the conductor. These electrons move in the opposite direction of the electric field and create an induced electric field which opposes the external electric field. This induced electric field is known as the shielding field.
The shielding field cancels out the external electric field until both fields cancel each other out. This is the point where the conductor is said to be in electrostatic equilibrium.
Therefore, the correct answer is option A - Both the fields cancel out each other.
Summary:
When a conductor is placed in an electric field, its free charge carriers adjust themselves to oppose the electric field. This creates an induced electric field known as the shielding field which cancels out the external electric field until both fields cancel each other out.
When a conductor is placed in an electric field; its free charge carri...
Conductors resist the flow of electrons only to a small extent. When an external electric field is applied to the conductor, the free electrons in the conductor move in an opposite direction to that of the applied electric field. This movement of electrons induces another electric field inside the conductor which opposes the original external electric field. This continues until the induced electric field cancels out the external feild. That is the reason we take electric field inside the conductor as zero.