Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

Hello fellow interested! Using Gauss\' law we must take E created by all charges

ID: 1681011 • Letter: H

Question

Hello fellow interested!
Using Gauss' law we must take E created by all charges goingthrough our surface but we can only use Q enclosed..By myunderstanding, if we take a solid conductor with a net positivecharge of Q and a hollow cavity within the conductor at whosecenter is a negative point charge -q and apply Gauss around -q,then q enclosed is (obviously -q) but E = zero..or so i thoughtbecause at the inner surface of the conductor at the cavity apositive charge q will accumulate. this..i thought would cancel theelectric field made by the -q charge..ergo E =0 but then Gauss' lawdoesn't hold! Could someone please help me! Thank you Hello fellow interested!
Could someone please help me! Thank you

Explanation / Answer

Electric field lines start on positive charges and end onnegative charges. Within the hollow cavity there is an electricfield      = = E A = q/ 0
There will be opposite and equalcharge induced on the inner surface of the conductor. There can be no field within the conductor otherwisecurrent would flow. A Gaussian surface within the conductor would enclose no netcharge and the field is therefore zero within the conductor. Hope this answers your question!