What happens to a charged particle when it is accelerated along the direction of magnetic field ?
What happens to a charged particle when it is accelerated along the direction of magnetic field ?
If the particle moves parallel to the field
So by Lorentz force formula the cross product between v and B will be zero and hence no force so no acceleration and as a result momentum will be conserved . The kinetic energy will also remain constant .
If the particle moves perpendicular to the field
So there will be a Lorentz force acting and hence the particle will undergo uniform circular motion , the particle will accelerate and the momentum will also change not in magnitude but in direction . The kinetic energy will remain constant .
Now if the particle enters the field at angle then the trajectory will be a helix . the particle will accelerate along y axis but not x axis . The momentum changes along y axis but not along axis . the kinetic energy in both the direction will remain constant
If the particle moves parallel to the field
So by Lorentz force formula the cross product between v and B will be zero and hence no force so no acceleration and as a result momentum will be conserved . The kinetic energy will also remain constant .
If the particle moves perpendicular to the field
So there will be a Lorentz force acting and hence the particle will undergo uniform circular motion , the particle will accelerate and the momentum will also change not in magnitude but in direction . The kinetic energy will remain constant .
Now if the particle enters the field at angle then the trajectory will be a helix . the particle will accelerate along y axis but not x axis . The momentum changes along y axis but not along axis . the kinetic energy in both the direction will remain constant
