File:Faradays ice pail experiment - electric fields.png

English: Drawing of electric fields of a charged ball as it is lowered into a metal pail in Faraday's ice pail experiment. This experiment, performed in 1841 by Michael Faraday, demonstrated that a charged object, enclosed inside a metal container, induces an equal charge on the container. This drawing shows that when the charged ball (circle) is far enough inside the container (drawing C), the electric field lines all terminate on the inside of the container, so the induced charge is equal to the inducing charge. Alterations to image:Removed labels on parts, and labelled the four drawings.