The solar wind is a thin, hot gas given off by the sun. Charged particles in thi

Question

The solar wind is a thin, hot gas given off by the sun. Charged particles in this gas enter the magnetic field of the earth and can experience a magnetic force. Suppose a charged particle traveling with a speed of 9.07E+6 m/s encounters the earth's magnetic field at an altitude where the field has a magnitude of 1.00E-7 T. Assuming that the particle's velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field, calculate the radius of the circular path on which the particle would move if it were an electron.

Explanation / Answer

Here centripetal force is balanced by magnetic force

mv2/r =qvB

=>r=mv/qB =(9.11*10-31)(9.07*106)/(1.6*10-19)(1*10-7)

r=516.42 m

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