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OBJECT: To acquaint the student with the operation of a cathode ray tube, and to study the
effect of varying potential differences on accelerated electrons.
THEORY: A heater coil in the back of the CRT, when supplied with 5 to 6.3 volts AC, heats the
cathode which in turn emits a high density electron stream. The electrons pass through an
aperture and are focused into a beam. They enter an axial electric field (E a ) and are uniformly
accelerated in the axial direction by an accelerating potential (V a ). The resulting axial velocity
(vx ) can be calculated using the conservation of energy equation:
KE = PE, or me vx = e Va ,
or vx = [2 e Va /me ]1/2 .
(1)
After the electrons leave Ea they continue at the constant velocity (v x ) until they reach the
deflecting plates. If an electric field (E d ) exists between the deflection plates due to an applied
voltage (Vd ), the electrons are accelerated (deflected) toward the more positive plate and they
acquire a velocity (vy ) perpendicular to the plates. The force exerted on an electron due to the
deflecting field is F E = e Ed . As this force acts for a time t1 , then the speed vy can be found:
Therefore,
(2)
(3)
where d is the separation of the two parallel deflecting plates. The time they are in the field is
related to the plate length (s) by
vx = s/t1 , or t1 = s/vx .
(4)
(5)
Having been affected by the voltages Va and Vd , the electrons are deflected at an angle
with respect to the tube axis where can be determined from
tan () = Opposite side/Adjacent side = D/L .
(6)
where D is the deflection distance on the screen and L is the distance from the midpoint of the
parallel plates to screen.
The velocities are proportional to the lengths, because the time interval is the same; thus
tan() = vy /vx = D/L .
(7)
(8)
or D = (Vd sL)/(Va2d)
(9)
The electrons then continue at constant velocity in a straight line until they strike the screen
and activate the phosphorescent coating on the inside, causing it to glow. Note: in this
experiment we are going to test Eq.(9). Note that s, L and d all depend on the shape of the
CRT and cant be changed. Only Vd and Va can be varied in this experiment.
PROCEDURE :
D
(in.)
Vd (Volts)
If you measured the deflecting voltage for each inch of deflection, so that you have different
x values (Vds) for the same y values (Ds) in the three different runs, and if you have trouble
with your plotting routines doing this, you may reverse the above graph and plot V d vs D. This
will allow you to have different y values (Vds) for the same x value (D), and may make
plotting your three runs on the same graph easier. However, if you do this, you should note this
in your report and explain the reason for the change. Also, be aware that from Eq. 9, we see
that the slope of the D vs Vd curve is (sL/2dVa), but the slope of the Vd vs D curve (flipping y
and x) gives the inverse slope of (2dV a /sL).