Answer to Question #162760 in General Chemistry for Mazwi Casbeth

Question

Find the angle with respect to the magnetic field that a particle must move in order to experience one-half of the maximum possible magnetic forcer assuming it moves with the same speed.

Answer 1

The magnetic force on a moving charge is one of the most fundamental known. Magnetic force is as important as the electrostatic or Coulomb force. Yet the magnetic force is more complex, in both the number of factors that affects it and in its direction, than the relatively simple Coulomb force. The magnitude of the magnetic force F on a charge q moving at a speed v in a magnetic field of strength B is given by

$F = qvB sin θ,$

where θ is the angle between the directions of v and B. This force is often called the Lorentz force. In fact, this is how we define the magnetic field strength B—in terms of the force on a charged particle moving in a magnetic field. The SI unit for magnetic field strength B is called the tesla (T) after the eccentric but brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943). To determine how the tesla relates to other SI units, we solve F = qvB sin θ for B.