Experiment No:5, Determination of specific charge of electron (e/m)

Debdoot Ghosh, Roll No:-1811056

Where me is the mass of the electron, r is the radius

ABSTRACT of the trajectory. From eq(1) eq(2) we can say
This experiment measures e/m, the charge to e V
“ (3)
mass ratio of the electron. This ratio was first me ~
~r ¨ B
measured by J. J. Thomson in 1897. He won If an electron of mass me and charge e is acceler-
a Nobel prize for his study of electrons. In the
present experiment a beam of electrons is accel-
erated through a known potential, so the velocity
of the electrons is known. A pair of Helmholtz
coils produces a uniform and measurable mag-
netic field at right angles to the electron beam.
This magnetic field deflects the electron beam
in a circular path. By measuring the accelerat-
ing potential, the current to the Helmholtz coils,
and the radius of the circular path of the electron
beam, the ratio e/m is calculated.

OBJECTIVE
Determination of the specific charge of the electron Figure 1: Motion of Electron in perpendicular mag-
(e/m) from the path of an electron beam. netic field

ated by a potential difference U it attains the kinetic

THEORY energy:
eU “ 1{2me v 2 (4)
If electron is entered in a homogeneous magnetic
~ with velocity V
field B ~ perpendicular to field then where v is the velocity of the electron.
the Lorentz force F: e 2U
“ (5)
me ~ 2
p~r ¨ Bq
F~ “ epV
~ ˆ Bq
~ (1)
The magnetic field for a pair Helmholth coil(Fig-
F~ is perpendicular to both V
~ and B.
~ So the trajec- 2) of radius R, N turns(both the coils are at distance
tory of electron become circular. F~ is balenced by R) is B:
R2
the centripetal force F~c : B “ µ0 N I 3 (6)
pR2 ` X 2 q 2
me V 2 Where X is the distance from center of the coil. Now
F~c “ (2)
r if X=R/2
4 3 µ0 N I
0 B “ p q2 “ KI (7)
5 R
1
2
Where,
4 3 µ0 N
K “ p q2 (8)
5 R
and µ0 “ 1.2566 ˆ 10´ 6N {A2 . So, the final equa-
tion is:
e 2U
“ (9)
me p~r ¨ KIq2

Figure 3: Schematic Diagram of Experimental set

up

Sl NO. I(A) Diameter(cm) r(cm) 1/r(cm´ 1)

1 0.8 8.4 4.2 0.24
2 0.9 7.4 3.7 0.27
3 1.0 6.6 3.3 0.30
4 1.1 5.7 2.85 0.35
5 1.2 5.4 2.7 0.37
6 1.3 4.8 2.4 0.41
7 1.4 4.5 2.25 0.44
8 1.5 4.2 2.1 0.50
9 1.6 4 2 0.55
10 1.7 3.7 1.85 0.60
Figure 2: Helmholth Coil

Table 1: 1/r Vs I

APPARATUS
The set up contains the following parts: 1. Narrow
electron beam tube
2. Pair of Helmholtz coils of radii 0.14m each (No.
of turns in each coil = 160, current limit 1.8A)
3. Power supply (0 – 250V)

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
The Schematic Diagram of Experimental set up is
in Fig(3).

OBSERVATION-1
TABLE-1
1/r Vs I , U = 100 V, (Table-1)(Fig-4)

Figure 4: The graph of 1/r Vs I for Table-1

 3
OBSERVATION-2 For Table-2:
e{me =[1.77ˆ101 1, 1.68ˆ1011 , 1.56ˆ1011 , 1.57ˆ1011 ,
Table-2:
1.54 ˆ 1011 , 1.50 ˆ 1011 , 1.50 ˆ 1011 , 1.53 ˆ 1011 ,
r2 Vs U, I = 1 A. (Table-2) 1.52 ˆ 1011 , 1.51 ˆ 1011 sC{kg
averagepe/me )=1.57ˆ1011 C{kg
Sl NO. U(V) Diameter(cm) r(cm) r2 (cm2 q
1 90 6.20 3.10 9.61
2 100 6.70 3.35 11.22 ERROR ANALYSIS
3 110 7.30 3.65 13.38 e 2U
4 120 7.60 3.80 14.44 “ (10)
me p~r ¨ KIq2
5 130 8.00 4.00 16.00
6 140 8.40 4.20 17.64 When U is fixed:-
Then from Table-1 and Graph-1/r Vs I, slope m is-
7 150 8.70 4.35 18.92
8 160 8.90 4.45 19.80 d
1 2U
9 170 9.20 4.60 21.16 I“ (11)
r K p mee q
2
10 180 9.50 4.74 22.46
So from y=mx equation we get m=
Table 2: r2 Vs U
2U
m2 “ (12)
K 2 p mee q

So-
pδ mee q δm 0.098
e “2 “ 2 ˆ p`{ ´ q “ `{ ´ 0.078
me m 2.5
(13)

e
δ “ `{´0.078ˆ1.83ˆ1011 “ `{´0.14ˆ1011 C{kg
me
(14)
When I is fixed:-
e
So, “ p1.83 ` { ´ 0.14q ˆ 1011 C{kg (15)
me
When I is fixed:- Then from Table-2 and Graph-U
Vs r2 ,

1 e 2 2 2
U“ K I r (16)
2 me
Slope (m) is:-
Figure 5: Graph of r2 Vs U for Table-2
1 e 2 2
m“ K I (17)
2 me
RESULT So -
δm δp ee q
From equation-9 “ m e “ 0.20{7.04 “ 0.027 (18)
m me
K “ 1.027 ˆ 10´3 For Table-1:
e{me = [1.67ˆ1011 , e
δp q “ 0.027 ˆ 1.57 ˆ 1011 “ 0.04 ˆ 1011 C{kg
1.71 ˆ 1011 , 1.74 ˆ 1011 , 1.92 ˆ 1011 , 1.80 ˆ 1011 , me
(19)
1.94 ˆ 1011 , 1.91 ˆ 1011 , 1.91 ˆ 1011 , 1.85 ˆ 1011 ,
So-
1.91 ˆ 1011 sC{kg
averagepe/me )=1.83ˆ1011 C{kg e
“ p1.57 ` { ´ 0.04q ˆ 1011 C{kg (20)
me
4
CONCLUSION
From this experiment we can conclude that the given
potential difference to accelerate the electron is pro-
portional to square of the radius of circle of elec-
tron in the perpendicular magnetic field. And the
given current to the helmholth coil I to create the
magnetic field B is inversely proportional to the ra-
dius of the circle of the electron beam in the per-
pendicular magnetic field. Then we get the spe-
cific charge of electron e/m from Table 1-p1.83 `
{ ´ 0.14q ˆ 1011 C/kg and from Table 2-p1.57 ` { ´
0.04q ˆ 1011 C/kg, which is nearly close to the theo-
retical value of specific charge of electron = 1.7588ˆ
1011 C/kg.It is remarkable that the error increased
significantly with the radius. For small r , the value
is very close to the literature value. This indicates
that there is some systematic error connected to the
radius. Apart from the beam being less focused,
the longer path of the electron beam allows much
more possibilities for the influence of electromag-
netic fields. Another possible source of error was
that the electrons were not injected perfectly per-
pendicular to the magnetic field. The beam had a
slight tendency to move in a spiral instead of a cir-
cle.

REFERENCE
(1)Gold, Michael, PHYSICS 307L: Junior Labora-
tory, University of New Mexico Dept. Physics and
Astronomy (pgs. 15-20), Fall 2006

(2))Azooz A A, "The Magneton Method for the

Determination of e/m for Electrons: Revisited", Eu-
orpean Journal of Physics, 28, 1-7 (2007).

(3)Lab manual.