Charge distribution in a Faraday cup

Principle

The pupils observe that when a Faraday-beaker is charged up the charges are located on the outside of the beaker and can only be removed from there. Nevertheless, charges can equally well be applied to the inside as to the outside of the beaker.

Benefits

• Quick and easy experiment for qualitatively understanding of electrostatic phenomena

Tasks

Where are the charges located on a Faraday-beaker? Investigate the charge distribution on a Faraday beaker.