[Physics] Gauss’s Law: Electric field due to uniformly charged sphere

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While determining the electric field due to a uniformly charged conducting or non-conducting sphere,does the sphere is considered hollow or it is considered solid?

Can anyone really state , what is meant by "thin spherical shell/thin sphere"?

Best Answer

Before we talk about the term "spherical shell" and "thin sphere", let us talk about the possible cases of the sphere itself.

Generally speaking, it depends on what is given to you.

  • If you have been given $\rho _s$, then probably it will be hallow.
  • If you have been given $\rho _v$, then definitely it will be solid.

Keep in mind that whether it was hallow or not, for a conducting sphere you will always have $\rho _v=0$ and all the charge distributed at the surface as $\rho _s$.

Now, a spherical-shell is simply a 3-D spherical shape defined as the region between two concentric (empty) spheres. Just like the area between two circles but in 3-D.

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