Deflection of a object due to magnetic field

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the deflection of a charged object moving through a magnetic field. The object is specified to have a mass of 3.8 grams, a velocity of 180 m/s, and a charge of 8.1 x 10^-9 C, while the magnetic field strength is given as 5 x 10^-5 T. The original poster seeks to determine the distance the object will be deflected after traveling 1.0 km.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the radius of curvature using the formula r = (mv)/(qB) and expresses uncertainty about the next steps after obtaining a large radius value. Some participants question the validity of the problem's figures, suggesting that the calculated radius is implausibly large compared to astronomical distances.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, with some providing formulas and discussing the implications of the results. There is a mix of skepticism regarding the problem's parameters and attempts to derive a numerical answer based on the provided equations. No consensus has been reached on the correctness of the initial problem setup.

Contextual Notes

Concerns have been raised about the realism of the problem's figures, particularly the calculated radius of curvature being larger than the distance from the Earth to the Sun, which leads to questioning the assumptions made in the problem statement.

joej
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an object of 3.8g moves @ 180m/s perpendicular to a magnetic field of (5x10^-5)T

the object possesses a net charge of (8.1x10^-9)C

by what distance will it be deflected from its pathe due to the magnetic field after it has traveled 1.0 km


so I'm guessing I'll have to find out the radius of the curvature here, so...

F = ma

a = v^2/r

qvB = (mv^2)/r

r = (mv)/(qB)

r = (1.69x10^12)m

and... yeah... where do I go from there... or do I have to do something different?
 
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Are u sure this is the original text of the problem,with these figures??I mean the curvature radius is larger than the mean distance Earth-Sun,the deflectio will be almost zero.

Daniel.
 
yeah I'm pretty sure... just double check it now again...

m = 3.8 g
B = 5 x 10 ^ -5 T
q = 8.1 x 10 ^ -9 C
distance traveled = 1.0 km
 
I'll let u do the calculations numerically,i'll simply provide the formulas.call the distance of 1Km by d,the curvature radius by "R" and the angle subtented by 'd' [itex]\theta[/itex]
[tex]d=R\theta[/tex] (1)
[tex]deflection=R-R\cos\theta[/tex] (2)

Since the angle is vanishingly small,u may use that,for very,very small arguments
[tex]\cos\theta\sim 1-\frac{\theta^{2}}{2}[/tex] (3)

Daniel.
 
okay so what I get is...

angle = 0.000000000592

so I use equation 3 and I get

cos(angle) = 0.999999999999999999824768

R - R(0.999999999999999999824768) =

1690000000000 - 1690000000000(0.999999999999999999824768) = 0.00000029614208

so... 2.96 x 10 ^ -7

does that seem about right?
 
The logics is flawless.For such a weird result (deflection of a straight line of a macroscopic object which smaller than the wavelegth of visible light (therefore it cannot be seen directly)),blame the idiot that made the proble up.Hopefully it's not someone u know... :-p

Daniel.
 

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