When can a surface charge density exist?

manpreet Best Answer 3 years ago

In my syllabus about electromagnetism, they state: "This surface charge density will not always be present, e.g. when considering two non-conducting dielectrics such surface charge density remains absent. However, at a perfect conductor, a surface charge density will be present. If one of the media (or both) carry a conduction current, a surface charge can also be present (explain why!)"

I don't really see though, how this can be explained. They seem to imply that there is a relation between the conductivity and the possibility of a surface charge, but I can't figure how they are related.

They also state somewhere earlier that there can't be a surface current between two lossy dielectrics. This seems to be analogous to my previous question. I thought that this was due to the fact that dielectrics don't conduct current, but I wonder if someone knows a better explanation here too (that perhaps explains why they explicitly mention that the dielectrics are lossy).