Electrostatic Induction Explorer

Live script exploring electrostatic induction with a simple method.

This Live Script explores electrostatic induction, the electric charge distribution induced on the surface of a conductor in response to a static external electric field. It models the surface of a 2D conductor as a collection of line charges freely and minimizes the approximate electrostatic energy using the Optimization Toolbox to determine the equilibrium charge distribution and resulting electric field.

The script derives from Ref [1] which simulates electrostatic shielding by an idealized 2D Faraday Cage. Some subtleties of Faraday cages are explored in Ref [2][3][4] which may relate to the Physics Girl video Can you call your mobile phone in the microwave?. An alternative calculation based on relaxation of surface currents is provided in Ref [5].

This script may interest students and instructors of general physics. The method entails only elementary electrostatics, not the solution of partial differential equations,. Background information is provided. 'Try this' suggestions, coding 'Challenges', and hyperlinks to documentation are included for further exploration.