Physics › Section P · Magnetism › Topic P.2
Force on a moving charge
A magnetic field ignores a charge at rest but pushes sideways on one that moves. That sideways push bends particle beams into circles, paints the aurora and lets chemists weigh single molecules.
In this topic
- A force that needs motion
- The size of the force and the tesla
- Which way? The right-hand rule
- Worked example: a proton crossing a field
- No work, so constant speed
- Circular paths
- Worked example: bending an electron beam
- Mass spectrometers
- Worked example: separating carbon isotopes
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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