JEE Main · 2023 · 06 Apr 2023 · Shift 1 · Electrostatics

For a uniformly charged thin spherical shell, the electric potential (V) radially away from the center (O) of shell can be graphically represented as

Answer: (A)

Solution

For a thin uniformly charged spherical shell of radius

R

carrying charge

Q

, the field inside is zero, so no work is done in moving a charge within the shell and the potential stays constant at its surface value

V = \frac{k Q}{R}

for all

r \leq R

. Outside the shell the charge behaves as if concentrated at the centre, giving

V = \frac{k Q}{r}

for

r > R

, which falls off as

1/ r

. The potential is therefore a horizontal line up to

r = R

and then decreases hyperbolically, joining continuously at

r = R

JEE Main · 2023 · 06 Apr 2023 · Shift 1 · Single correct option