Given below are two statements. Statement I: Electric potential is constant within and at the surface of each conductor. Statement II: The electric field just outside a charged conductor is perpendicular to the surface of the conductor at every point. In the light of the above statements, choose th…

Question

Given below are two statements. Statement I: Electric potential is constant within and at the surface of each conductor. Statement II: The electric field just outside a charged conductor is perpendicular to the surface of the conductor at every point. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.

Accepted Answer

(1) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct.. In electrostatic equilibrium the field inside a conductor is zero, otherwise the free electrons would keep moving. Since V(b)-V(a)=-∫ₐ^b⃗E· d⃗r, a zero interior field makes V the same at every interior point and, by continuity, at the surface too. Statement I is correct. If the field just outside had a component along the surface, it would drive a surface current; equilibrium therefore forces that tangential component to vanish, leaving ⃗E normal to the surface. Statement II is correct. Both statements are correct, and they are two faces of the same condition.

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong