4. Which of the following is an accurate statement? a) All parts of a perfect co

Question

4. Which of the following is an accurate statement? a) All parts of a perfect conductor are at the same potential. b) If a solid metal sphere carries a net charge, the charge will be uniformly distributed throughout the volume of the sphere. c) A conductor cannot carry a net charge. d) In static equilibrium, the electric field at the surface of a conductor is not necessarily perpendicular to the surface, especially when the conductor has an odd shape. I believe the answer is (a). Please explain why (b),(c),(d) are wrong.

Explanation / Answer

a) All parts of a perfect conductor are at the same potential, is correct statement

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In static equilibrium the inside of a conductor is field free. If it were not, electrons would move and distribute themselves, so as to cancel out the field. The inside of a conductor can not contain any net charge. Such charges would produce a field inside the conductor, and electrons would move and cancel out the field and neutralize the charge. Any excess charge on a conductor must therefore reside on the surface.

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