Question

Which of the particles in Figure 22.47 has the greatest mass, assuming all have identical charges and velocities?

Short answer

The particles ‘a’ in the figure has the greatest mass, assuming all have identical charges and velocities.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of Magnetic force

The magnetic force is always applicable on the moving charge and can be expressed as,

Where q and v are the charge and velocity of the charged particle and B is the applied magnetic field.

Cause of Magnetic force

Charged particles move in a circular motion as a result of magnetic force, which is known as centripetal force, and the radius of the circular motion can be given as,

$\mathrm{r}\left(\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{mv}\\ \mathrm{qB}\end{array}\right)$

Where m is the mass of the charged particle.

If we keep the other parameters constant except mass, we can write that,

$\mathrm{r}\infty \mathrm{m}$

Therefore, the particle with a higher radius will have the greatest mass, and we can see from the above figure that the particle with a higher radius is ‘a’.

Therefore, the particel with the greatest mass is a.