
10–72 Electricity and Magnetism
ASIDE: PROOF of the Claim (by reductio ad absurdum)
Supp ose that the potential function were zero both inside the shell and at the point
at infinity. Accordingly, it would require zero net energy to move a point test charge,
q
0
, from infinity to the region inside the shell, i.e.,
∆U
E
= q
0
∆V = 0 .
However, it is only once the charged particle passes inside the shell that the local
electric field [and force] that it exper iences vanishes. While it is outside the shell,
the field, force, potential, and electrostatic potential energy are non-vanishing.
IF q
0
and Q
Total
are
»
like
unlike
–
, THEN
the electrostatic potential energy of