Experiments show that when a charged conductor is placed in contact with the inside of a hollow conductor, all the charge on the charged conductor is transferred to the hollow conductor. In principal the charge on the hollow conductor and and its electric potential can be increased without limit by repetition of the process
May I know the reason for this? Will this be possible even if the potential of the hollow space is less than potential of the conductor?
Best Answer
When the charges are on the belt they feel a repulsive force due to the electric field produced by the dome of the VdG.
Whatever is driving the belt is doing work and this results in the potential of the charges increasing as they move towards the dome.
Once inside the dome the charges on the surface of the dome no longer repel the charges on the belt.
A charge on the belt only feels the repulsive force of the other charges on the belt and so moves away from them until that force (due to the charges on the belt) becomes zero and that occurs when the charge is on the outer surface of the dome.