Where does charge accumulate on a conductor?

Charge piles up at pointy ends of a conductor (making the field strongest there) to balance forces on the charges. On a sphere or circle, charges are uniformly distributed because if they weren’t there would be net forces pushing the charges toward this uniform distribution.

Why do sharp points lose their charge easily?

Since the field is stronger near a sharp point, the air molecules immediately adjacent to a sharp point feel a strong field, and therefore induced opposite charges develop easily at the nearer end of these molecules. This causes a slow leakage of the charge on the conductor.

Why does charge leaks from sharp points?

Explanation: When an electric charge accumulates near the sharp edges of a conductor, then the charge density becomes higher at this point. Due to the high charge density in this area, the charge leaks.

Why is electric potential constant inside a conductor?

As inside the conductor the electric field is zero, so no work is done against the electric field to bring a charge particle from one point to another. Because there is no potential difference between any two points inside the conductor, the electrostatic potential is constant throughout the volume of the conductor.

Why does charge collect at a point?

In an area with small radius of curvature the component of the force parallel to the surface is small, and therefore more electrons are required to exert the same force. This results in an accumulation of charges around regions with a small radius of curvature.

Is it possible to transfer all the charge from a conductor to an insulated conductor?

yes it is possible to transform all charge from conductor to another insulated conductor . this is because the particle of insulated conductor do not allow the electric 2 floor various conductor can transfer it charge to another insulated conductor.

What is action of points in a charged conical sphere?

The action of losing charged conductor due to its pointed ends is called action of points. Lightning conductors with sharp pointed ends are fitted at the top of a building in order to have safe discharge of electricity generated in the atmosphere.

Does electric charges leak rapidly from the pointed edges of a conductor?

It is true. At pointed edges accumulation of electirc chareges is more due to its very low radius of curvature.

Does charge accumulate at sharp points in a conductor?

And second, when a conductor is heated up to the point that charges can leave the surface they tend to start leaving primarily from sharp points where the large normal force can help push the charges off. So this would imply that charge does not necessarily accumulate at sharp points, but charge density does. Correct.

Why is the electric field at the surface of a conductor?

Because of the steady-state requirement that the electric field be normal to the surface of the conductor (and zero inside), regions where the surface has a small radius of curvature (i.e. points and corners) have a high divergence of the field, which from Gauss’ Law means a significant local charge density.

What happens to electrons when they enter a charged conductor?

When they are in the interior of the charged conductor the net force is towards the surface. However, once they get to the surface they cannot leave (unless they are heated and have a lot of KE), all they can do is move around the surface.

What is the charge density at the sharp point?

So the charge density at the sharp point (z=2R) is double the charge density at the round point (r=R), but the charge is half. (This is very similar to the two spheres example). So this would imply that charge does not necessarily accumulate at sharp points, but charge density does.