For a material under static conditions, which one among the following statements is correct ?

Under static conditions, both conductors and insulators can be charged. In a conductor, excess charges are free to move and quickly redistribute themselves until they reach electrostatic equilibrium, where any excess charge resides entirely on the outer surface. This occurs because the free charges repel each other and move as far apart as possible. In contrast, insulators (or dielectrics) can also be charged, often through methods like friction or the triboelectric effect. However, because electrons in an insulator are tightly bound to their atoms and are not free to flow, any excess charge transferred to an insulator remains localized at the initial point of charging rather than spreading across the entire surface. Therefore, while the distribution of charge differs—surface distribution for conductors and localized or volume distribution for insulators—both material types are capable of holding a net static charge [1].

Sources

1. [1] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Exploring Forces > Activity 5.6: Let us experiment > p. 70