A positive test charge located exactly in the middle of the sphere would feel no force.
The
electrons on the left side of the sphere would tend to pull the test charge to the left, but the
electrons on the right side of the sphere would tend to pull the test charge to the right equally
hard. The net force on the test charge would be zero. Thus, the electric field is also zero.
Interestingly, enough, complete cancellation will occur anywhere inside the sphere.
-If the conductor is not spherical, then the charge distribution will not be uniform. The
remarkable thing is this: The exact charge distribution over the surface is such that the electric
field everywhere inside the conductor is zero. If there were an electric field inside a conductor,
then free electrons inside the conductor would be set in motion. How far would they move? Until
equilibrium is established, which is to say, when the positions of all the electrons produce a zero
field inside the conductor.
-How to Shield an Electric Field There is no way to shield gravity, because gravity only
attracts. There are no repelling parts of gravity to offset attracting parts. Shielding electric fields,
however, is quite simple. Surround yourself or whatever you wish to shield with a conducting
surface. Put this surface in an electric field of whatever field strength. The free charges in the
conducting surface will arrange themselves on the surface of the conductor in a way such that
all field contributions inside cancel one another. Thats why certain electronic components are
encased in metal boxes, and why certain cables have a metal covering- to shield them from all
outside electrical activity.
Electrical Potential Energy
Recall the relationship between work and potential energy. Work is done when a force moves
something in the direction of the force. An object has potential energy by virtue of its location,
say in a force field. For example, if you lift an object you apply a force equal to its weight. When
you raise it through some distance, you are doing work on the object. You are also increasing its
gravitational potential energy. The greater the distance it is raised, the greater is the increase in
its gravitational potential energy. Doing work increases its gravitational potential energy.
In a similar way, a charged object can have potential energy by virtue of its location in an
electric field. Just as work is required to lift an object against the gravitational field of Earth,
work is required to push a charged particle against the electric field of a charged body. The
electrical potential energy of a charged particle is increased when work is done to push it
against the electric field of something else that is charged.
This shows a small positive charge located at some distance from a positively charged sphere.
If we pusht he small charge closer to the sphere, we will expend energy to voercome electical
replusion. Just as work is done in compressing a spring, work is done in pushing the charge
against the elecric field of the sphere. This work is equal to the energy gained by the charge.
The energy a charge has due to its location in an electric field is called electrical potential
energy. If the charge is released, it will accelerate in a direction away from the sphere, and its
electrical potential energy will transform into kinetic energy.
Electric Potential
If in the preceding discussion we push two charges instead, we do twice as much work. The two
charges in the same location will have twice the electrical potential energy as one; a group of
ten charges will have ten times the potential energy and so on.
Rather than deal with the total potential energy of a group of charges, it is convenient
when working with electricity to consider the electrical potential energy per charge. The
electrical potential energy per charge is the total electrical potential energy divided by the
amount of charge. At any location the potential energy per charge will be the same. For
example, an object with ten units of charge at a specific location has ten times as much
potential nergy as an object with a single unit of charge. But it also has ten times as much
charge, so the potential energy per charge is the same. The concept of electrical potential
energy per charge has a special name, electric potential.
Electric potential is NOT the same as electrical potential energy. Electric potential is
electrical potential energy per charge.
Rub a balloon on your hair and the balloon becomes negatively charged, perhaps to
several thousand volts! If the charge on the balloon were one coulomb, it would take several
thousand joules of energy to give the balloon that voltage. However, one coulomb is a very
large amount of charge; the charge on a balloon rubbed on hair is typically much less than a
millionth of a coulomb. Therefore, the amount of energy associated with the charged balloon is
very, very small-- about a thousandth of a joule. A high voltage requires great energy only if a
great amount of charge is involved. This example highlights the difference between electrical
potential energy and electric potential.