How does charge move from the inside to the outside of the butterfly-net?

[slakedlime]

Please can someone help me with this? Thanks in advance. :)

Homework Statement

'No charge is present on the inside surface of a charged hollow conductor'. In Faraday's butterfly net experiment, when the positively charged net is turned inside out, the outside is still charged. How does the charge move from the inside to the outside, and why?

Homework Equations

None

The Attempt at a Solution

Are electrons repelled by the like charged ions in air and so go to the inside of the net?

 

[Nate810]

(The net is made of metal)Yes, this is correct. When the positively charged net is turned inside out, the positive charge on the inside is attracted to the negatively charged air molecules, causing the electrons to move from the inside to the outside of the net. This process is known as electrostatic induction, and it occurs when an electric field is generated in a conductor due to the presence of a nearby object with an electric charge. The electrons that are repelled by the like-charged ions in the air will move to the inside of the net, while those attracted to the opposite charge will move to the outside. This creates a charge imbalance between the inside and outside of the net, resulting in a net charge on the outside.

 

[m2003]

I would like to provide an explanation for the phenomenon observed in Faraday's butterfly net experiment. The concept of charge distribution on a hollow conductor is based on the principle of electrostatic equilibrium, where the electric field inside the conductor is zero. This means that any excess charge present on the inside surface of the conductor will distribute itself in such a way that the electric field inside is zero. This is why there is no charge present on the inside surface of a charged hollow conductor.

Now, when the charged butterfly net is turned inside out, the outside now becomes the inside and vice versa. This means that the excess charge that was originally present on the inside surface is now on the outside surface. This happens because the charges are free to move within the conductor, and when the net is turned inside out, the charges redistribute themselves to maintain the electrostatic equilibrium.

As for the question of how the charge moves from the inside to the outside, it is important to understand that the movement of charges is driven by the electric field. In the case of the butterfly net, the excess positive charge on the inside surface creates an electric field that extends into the surrounding air. This electric field exerts a force on any nearby charges, including the electrons in the air. The electrons are then repelled by the positively charged net and are attracted to the inside surface, leaving the outside surface with a net positive charge.

In summary, the charge moves from the inside to the outside of the butterfly net due to the redistribution of charges to maintain electrostatic equilibrium, and this is driven by the electric field created by the excess charge on the inside surface. I hope this explanation helps to clarify the concept.