Is it always true that the electric field in a conductor is zero?
What would happen if I put a very big charge inside an ungrounded hollow conducting sphere like this image?
The charges inside the conductor are supposed to rearrange so as to cancel the field created by the big charge.
So in that case, the electrons (I believe only electrons can move freely ..?) will move towards the inner surface (because they're attracted by the big positive charge) and it creates a field in the opposite direction that somewhat cancels the existing field. But what happens if there is still a field when all the electrons are on the inner surface ?
What if it's not enough to cancel the field created by the big charge?
Best Answer
If there were to exist an electric field in the conductor, there would also have to be a current. A radial field drives a radial current, and it is this very current that will change the charge that is on either surface, which then in turn creates its own electric field. The steady-state is when the TOTAL field is equal to zero, when there are no longer any currents.