Question

For a conductor in an external field, I would like to know whether the electron clouds of each atom, just shift slightly (resulting in positive charges just on one edge, and negative charges just on the other with all internal area remaining neutral).

Or, whether the electrons fully dissociate, leaving positive ions throughout the conductor volume but with all electrons on one side.
If this second case, then how would the electric field work out as zero inside?

Answer 1

In a conductor, the electric field inside becomes zero as the free electrons redistribute to neutralize the external field.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a conductor is placed in an external electric field, the free electrons in the conductor redistribute in such a way that the electric field inside the conductor becomes zero. This redistribution of charges results in positive charges accumulating on one side of the conductor and negative charges accumulating on the other side, while the overall internal area of the conductor remains neutral.

This means that the electron clouds of each atom do not fully dissociate, but instead shift slightly. The resulting charge distribution on the conductor's surface leads to the cancellation of the electric field inside.