Exercises
Magnetic field and Lorentz force
Problems to solve on your own. The final solution appears with the button below each problem; each exercise also has its own page, to share with the link.
1. Force on an electron
An electron moves with speed perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field . Compute the magnitude of the magnetic force on the electron.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
2. Force on a proton in oblique motion
A proton moves with speed in a uniform magnetic field ; the velocity forms an angle of with the field. Compute the magnitude of the magnetic force on the proton.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
3. Radius and period of a proton
A proton, of mass , moves with speed perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field . Compute the radius of the trajectory and the period of the motion.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
4. Cyclotron frequency of the electron
Compute the cyclotron frequency of an electron in a uniform magnetic field , and determine whether it depends on the speed of the electron.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
5. Electron accelerated and deflected
An electron, initially at rest, is accelerated by the potential difference and enters perpendicularly a uniform magnetic field . Compute the radius of the trajectory.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
6. Radius and pitch of a helix
A proton, of mass , enters a uniform magnetic field with velocity forming an angle of with the field. Compute the radius and the pitch of the helix.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
7. Field of a velocity selector
In a velocity selector the electric field equals . Compute the magnetic field needed for the particles with speed to cross the selector without being deflected.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
8. Mass of an ion in the spectrometer
In a mass spectrometer ions of charge , starting practically at rest, are accelerated by the potential difference and enter a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the velocity, where they describe a semicircle of radius . Compute the mass of the ions in kilograms and in atomic mass units ().
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
9. Electron density with the Hall effect
An aluminum strip of thickness carries the current in a magnetic field perpendicular to its wide faces, and the Hall voltage is measured between its edges. Compute the density of the carriers, of charge .
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
10. Force on a quarter-circle wire
A wire in the shape of a quarter circle of radius , carrying the current , lies in a plane perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field . Compute the magnitude of the force on the wire.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
11. Rod suspended in the field
A horizontal rod of length and mass hangs from two insulating vertical threads in a uniform horizontal magnetic field , perpendicular to the rod. Compute the current that makes the tension in the threads vanish.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
12. Torque on a circular coil
A circular coil of turns of radius carries the current in a uniform magnetic field parallel to the plane of the coil. Compute the torque on the coil.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.
13. Work to rotate a magnetic moment
A coil with magnetic moment is in stable equilibrium in a uniform magnetic field . Compute the work needed to rotate it slowly until the magnetic moment forms an angle of with the field.
Solution available to those who have unlocked the subject.