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1) is it possible for a charged particle to move through a magnetic field withou

ID: 2256927 • Letter: 1

Question

1) is it possible for a charged particle to move through a magnetic field without experiencing a force due to magnetism?  
2) is it possible for a charged particle to be at rest in the simultaneous presence of a magnetic field & electric field?
3) is it possible for a particle to move through the magnetic & electric fields without experiencing a net force?
thanks! 1) is it possible for a charged particle to move through a magnetic field without experiencing a force due to magnetism?  
2) is it possible for a charged particle to be at rest in the simultaneous presence of a magnetic field & electric field?
3) is it possible for a particle to move through the magnetic & electric fields without experiencing a net force?
thanks!

Explanation / Answer

1) Yes, it is possible. If a charged particle moves in the same direction as that of the magnetic field, the force on the charged particle is zero. The magnetic force on a charged particle is given by q(v X B). It is the cross product of velocity and magnetic field. When the angle is zero, the force is obviously zero as the cross product is zero.


2) No, it is not possible. Suppose you have a charged particle which is at rest. Just after the instant, due to the electric field the charge gets accelerated in the direction of electric field. Due to the velocity of the charge, the charge also gets a magnetic force. Now this magnetic force is given by q(v X B) which means the force is perpendicular to the velocity. But we know that the electric field is in the direction of velocity. So, the two forces, Electric field and the magnetic field are perpendicular and they do not cancel. Hence, the charge gets accelerated and it does not stay at rest.


3) Yes, this is possible. The charge moves with constant velocity in this case. If the magnetic field and electric field are oppsite in direction, the net force is zero and the charged particle does not experience any force. Simply put the magnetic force, (v X B) must be equal to the electric field E. This is the basic principle of JJ Thomson experiment where the specific charge of electron is measured.