A charged particle accelerated through a potential difference of V volts ac quires a speed u. The particle is then made to enter perpendicularly in a uniform magnetic field B. The radius of the circular path followed by the charged particle will be proportional to
Correct Answer :
V/u
Solution :
The correct option is V/u.
To find how the radius of the circular path is related to the potential difference and speed, let us break down the physical processes step-by-step.
Step 1: Acceleration through a Potential Difference
When a particle of charge and mass is accelerated from rest through a potential difference of volts, the work done on the particle is converted into kinetic energy:
From this relation, we can express the mass-to-charge ratio () in terms of the potential difference and speed :
Step 2: Motion in a Uniform Magnetic Field
When the charged particle enters perpendicularly into a uniform magnetic field , the magnetic Lorentz force acts as the centripetal force keeping the particle in a circular path of radius :
Solving for the radius gives:
Step 3: Substituting the mass-to-charge ratio
Substitute the expression for obtained from Step 1 into the radius equation:
Simplifying this, we get:
Since the magnetic field is uniform and constant, the radius is directly proportional to:
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