Question

-Do electric fields extend through the interior of an insulator in static equilibrium?

-Do electric fields extend through the interior of an conductor in static equilibrium?

-What is the relationship between electric field lines and equipotential lines?

Answer 1

The difference between conductors and insulators is that conductors have free electrons and can conduct electricity, whereas insulators donot have free electrons to conduct electricity. Here conducting electricity is being infulenced by the electric field and thus allowing electric fields to extend through them. And static equillibrium means having no additional charge or being electrically neutral. So,

a) Electric fields do not extend through the interior of an insulator in static equillibrium.

b) Electric fields do extend through the interior of a conductor in static equillibrium.

c) Equipotenital lines are perpendicular to the electric field lines, because there is no potential gradient along any direction parallel to the equipotential line , and so no electric field exists parallel to the equipotential line. This means that the electric lines of force are always at right angle to the equipotential line.