[ Problem View ]

Force on Moving Charges in a Magnetic Field

Description: Student goes through right-hand rule questions and then looks at force on a
charge moving at particular velocity through uniform magnetic field.
Learning Goal: o understand the force on a charge moving in a magnetic field.
!agnets e"ert forces on other magnets even though they are separated by some distance.
#sually the force on a magnet $or piece of magneti%ed matter& is pictured as the interaction
of that magnet with the magnetic field at its location $the field being generated by other
magnets or currents&. !ore fundamentally' the force arises from the interaction of
individual moving charges within a magnet with the local magnetic field. his force is
written ' where is the force' is the individual charge $which can be
negative&' is its velocity' and is the local magnetic field.
his force is nonintuitive' as it involves the vector product $or cross product& of the vectors
and . (n the following questions we assume that the coordinate system being used has
the conventional arrangement of the a"es' such that it satisfies ' where ' ' and
are the unit vectors along the respective a"es.
)et*s go through the right-hand rule. Starting with the generic vector cross-product
equation point your forefinger of your right hand in the direction of ' and
point your middle finger in the direction of . +our thumb will then be pointing in the
direction of .
Part A
,onsider the specific e"ample of a positive charge moving in the -x direction with the
local magnetic field in the -y direction. (n which direction is the magnetic force acting
on the particle.
/"press your answer using unit vectors $e.g.' - &. $0ecall that is written x_unit.&
ANSWER:
1irection of 2
%3unit
Part B
4ow consider the e"ample of a positive charge moving in the -x direction with the local
magnetic field in the -z direction. (n which direction is the magnetic force acting on the
particle.
/"press your answer using unit vectors.
ANSWER:
1irection of 2
-y3unit
Part C
4ow consider the e"ample of a positive charge moving in the xy plane with velocity
$i.e.' at angle with respect to the x a"is&. (f the local magnetic field
is in the -z direction' what is the direction of the magnetic force acting on the particle.
int C!" Finding the cross prod#ct
he direction can be found by any of the usual means of finding the cross product5
6. #se the determinant e"pression for the cross product. $See your math or
physics te"t.&
7. #se the general definition
'
where any term with the three directions in the normal order of xyz or any
cyclical permutation $e.g.' yzx or zxy& has a positive sign' and terms with the
other order $xzy' zyx' or yxz& have a negative sign.
/"press the direction of the force in terms of ' as a linear combination of unit vectors'
' ' and .
ANSWER:
1irection of 2
- cos$theta&8y3unit - sin$theta&8"3unit
Part D
9irst find the magnitude of the force in the case that the velocity and the magnetic
field are perpendicular.
/"press your answer in terms of ' ' ' and other quantities given in the problem
statement.
ANSWER: 2
q8v8:
abs$q&8v8:
Part E
4ow consider the e"ample of a positive charge moving in the -z direction with the local
magnetic field in the -z direction. 9ind ' the magnitude of the magnetic force acting
on the particle.
/"press your answer in terms of ' ' ' and other quantities given in the problem
statement.
ANSWER:
2
;
here is no magnetic force on a charge moving parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic
field. /quivalently' the magnetic force is proportional to the component of velocity
perpendicular to the magnetic field.
Part F
4ow consider the case in which the charge is moving in the yz plane at an angle with
the z a"is as shown $with the magnetic
field still in the -z direction&. 9ind the magnetic force on the charge.
Part F!"
Part not displayed
Part F!$
Part not displayed
/"press the magnetic force in terms of given variables like ' ' ' ' and unit vectors.
ANSWER:
2
q8v8:8sin$theta&8"3unit
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[ Problem View ]
Electro%agnetic &elocit' Filter
Description: 9ind the velocity of a charged particle that is undeflected in crossed electric
and magnetic fields. )ook at relation between mass' charge' and acceleration as charged
particle traverses the fields.
<hen a particle with charge moves across a magnetic field of magnitude ' it
e"periences a force to the side. (f the proper electric field is simultaneously applied' the
electric force on the charge will be in such a direction as to cancel the magnetic force with
the result that the particle will travel in a straight line. he balancing condition provides a
relationship involving the velocity of the particle. (n this problem you will figure out how
to arrange the fields to create this balance and then determine this relationship.
Part A
,onsider the arrangement of ion source and electric field plates shown in the figure.
he ion source sends particles with
velocity along the positive x a"is. hey encounter electric field plates spaced a
distance apart that generate a uniform electric field of magnitude in the -y direction.
o cancel the resulting electric force with a magnetic force' a magnetic field $not
shown& must be added in which direction. #sing the right-hand rule' you can see that
the positive z a"is is directed out of the screen.
int A!" Method (or deter%ining direction
Hint not displayed
int A!$ Right)hand r#le
Hint not displayed
,hoose the direction of .
ANSWER:
Part B
4ow find the magnitude of the magnetic field that will cause the charge to travel in a
straight line under the combined action of electric and magnetic fields.
Part B!"
Part not displayed
Part B!$
Part not displayed
/"press the magnetic field that will =ust balance the applied electric field in terms of
some or all of the variables ' ' and .
ANSWER:
2
/>v
Part C
(t may seem strange that the selected velocity does not depend on either the mass or the
charge of the particle. $9or e"ample' would the velocity of a neutral particle be selected
by passage through this device.& he e"planation of this is that the mass and the charge
control the resolution of the device--particles with the wrong velocity will be
accelerated away from the straight line and will not pass through the e"it slit. (f the
acceleration depends strongly on the velocity' then particles with =ust slightly wrong
velocities will feel a substantial transverse acceleration and will not e"it the selector.
:ecause the acceleration depends on the mass and charge' these influence the sharpness
$resolution& of the transmitted particles.
?ssume that you want a velocity selector that will allow particles of velocity to pass
straight through without deflection while also providing the best possible velocity
resolution. +ou set the electric and magnetic fields to select the velocity . o obtain
the best possible velocity resolution $the narrowest distribution of velocities of the
transmitted particles& you would want to use particles with 3333333333.
int C!" *se Ne+ton,s la+
(f the velocity is @wrong@ the forces won*t balance and the resulting transverse force
will cause a transverse acceleration. #se to determine how this acceleration
will depend on and . +ou want particles with the incorrect velocity to have the
ma"imum possible deviation in the y direction so that they will not go through a slit
placed at the right end. his means that the acceleration should be ma"imum.
?ssume that the selector is short enough so that particles that move away from the a"is
do not have time to come back to it.
ANSWER:
both and large
large and small
small and large
both and small
+ou want particles with the incorrect velocity to have the ma"imum possible deviation
in the y direction so that they will not go through a slit placed at the right end. he
deviation will be ma"imum when the acceleration is ma"imum. he acceleration is
directly proportional to and inversely proportional to 5
.
So for ma"imum deviation' should be large and small.
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0ail Aun
2$V8:8)&>$08m8g&
[ Problem View ]
Charge Moving in a C'clotron -r.it
Description: Aeneral problem which goes through charged particle motion perpendicular
to magnetic fieldB reviews cyclotron frequency derivation. Aoes through kinematics and
frequency invariance.
Learning Goal: o understand why charged particles move in circles perpendicular to a
magnetic field and why the frequency is an invariant.
? particle of charge and mass moves in a region of space where there is a uniform
magnetic field . (n this problem'
neglect any forces on the particle other than the magnetic force.
Part A
?t a given moment the particle is moving in the direction $and the magnetic field is
always in the direction &. (f is positive' what is the direction of the force on the
particle due to the magnetic field.
int A!" Finding direction #sing the cross prod#ct
Hint not displayed
?nswer in terms of unit vectors ' ' and or linear combinations of them.
ANSWER:
1irection of force 2 -y3unit
Part B
his force will cause the path of the particle to curve. herefore' at a later time' the
direction of the force will 333333333333.
ANSWER:
have a component along the direction of motion
remain perpendicular to the direction of motion
have a component against the direction of motion
first have a component along the direction of motionB then
againstB then alongB etc.
Part C
he fact that the magnetic field generates a force perpendicular to the instantaneous
velocity of the particle has implications for the work that the field does on the particle.
?s a consequence' if only the magnetic field acts on the particle' its kinetic energy will
333333333333.
ANSWER:
increase over time
decrease over time
remain constant
oscillate
Part D
he particle moves in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field direction. <hat is '
the angular frequency of the circular motion.
int D!" Broad approach to this pro.le%
his is a circular dynamics problem. Set to solve the problem. 4ote that
angular velocity and angular frequency are the same physical quantity.
Part D!$ Deter%ine the %agnetic (orce
Part not displayed
Part D!/
Part not displayed
Part D!0 Find the acceleration (ro% 1ine%atics
Part not displayed
Part D!2 Descri.e the %otion o( a particle in a %agnetic (ield
Part not displayed
/"press in terms of ' ' and .
ANSWER:
2 q8:3;>m
Part E
4ote that this result for the frequency does not depend on the radius of the circle.
?lthough it appeared in the equations of force and motion' it canceled out. <hat can
you conclude from this.
int E!" Relation .et+een linear speed and ang#lar (re3#enc' 4ang#lar
velocit'5
he linear speed relates to the angular frequency as .
ANSWER:
he frequency and the linear speed of the particle are invariant
with orbit si%e.
he linear speed $but not the frequency of the particle& is
invariant with orbit si%e.
he frequency $but not the linear speed& of the particle is
invariant with orbit si%e.
:oth the frequency and the linear speed of the particle depend on
the orbit si%e.
[ Print ]
!ass Spectrometer
2sqrt$78$q>m&8V&
2$0C78:3;C7&>$78V&
orgue on a ,urrent )oop
2(8a8b8:8cos$theta&
2m8:8sin$phi&
2(8:8pi8rC78sin$phi&