In combined fields, charged particles experience forces from both electric and magnetic fields, affecting their motion (e.g., in a velocity selector).
Electric and magnetic forces can balance each other, or create complex particle paths such as helical motion.
These interactions are foundational for devices like mass spectrometers, cathode ray tubes, and particle accelerators.
A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to both its velocity and the magnetic field.
In a uniform magnetic field, if velocity is perpendicular, the particle moves in a circular path due to centripetal force provided by the magnetic force.
If the velocity has components both parallel and perpendicular to the field, the path becomes a helix.
Direction of deflection reveals the sign of the charge (positive or negative).
Radius of circular motion in a magnetic field depends on mass, speed, charge, and field strength.
Magnitude of acceleration or curvature allows calculation of the particle’s mass-to-charge ratio, important in identifying unknown particles.
the motion of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field
the motion of a charged particle in perpendicularly oriented uniform electric and magnetic fields
the magnitude and direction of the force on a charge moving in a magnetic field
the magnitude and direction of the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field
the force per unit length between parallel wires where r is the separation between the two wires.