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Electricity and Magnetism

Faraday’s "Ice Pail" Experiment

 An uncharged metal container (the "ice pail") is connected to an electroscope.

A charged metal sphere is lowered into the container.

The electroscope indicates an induced charge on the container. The charge on the inside of the container is opposite to the charge on the sphere. On the outside it is the same as the charge on the sphere.

If the sphere is moved about inside the container, the "leaf" of the electroscope remains in the same position

When the sphere is removed, the electroscope returns to its original state.

© David Hoult 2008