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elisagroup
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Seems the physics books agree that there is no difference in capacitance whether an isolated sphere is solid or hollow. And the reason mentioned for that always sounds something like the following:
"The reason that the capacitance C, and hence the charge Q, is not affected by whether or not the sphere is hollow or solid is because, in a perfect conductor, like charges are free to take up equilibrium positions in response to the mutual electrostatic (Coulomb) repulsion between them. This means that all of the charges will move to the outer surface of the sphere, and will be distributed uniformly over the surface of the sphere, in order to 'get as far away as possible' from their neighbors. This is the energetically most favorable distribution of the charge. Since the material of which the sphere is made is a conductor, all charges can find their way to the outer surface, whether the interior is hollow or solid. "
But does it account for the scenario where the sphere would be charged to such a degree that the outer surface would get crowded, with charges looking for a more relaxed state and redistributing themselves on the inner layers of the sphere as well. And If that is true, wouldn't that mean that under certain conditions there is a difference in capacitance between solid vs hollow configurations?
"The reason that the capacitance C, and hence the charge Q, is not affected by whether or not the sphere is hollow or solid is because, in a perfect conductor, like charges are free to take up equilibrium positions in response to the mutual electrostatic (Coulomb) repulsion between them. This means that all of the charges will move to the outer surface of the sphere, and will be distributed uniformly over the surface of the sphere, in order to 'get as far away as possible' from their neighbors. This is the energetically most favorable distribution of the charge. Since the material of which the sphere is made is a conductor, all charges can find their way to the outer surface, whether the interior is hollow or solid. "
But does it account for the scenario where the sphere would be charged to such a degree that the outer surface would get crowded, with charges looking for a more relaxed state and redistributing themselves on the inner layers of the sphere as well. And If that is true, wouldn't that mean that under certain conditions there is a difference in capacitance between solid vs hollow configurations?