In: Physics
The earth’s north pole is a magnetic south pole. The field above the pole is ~0.05mTesla. A proton from the sun with a velocity of 1,000,000 m/s enters this magnetic field.
a) Find the force on the proton if the velocity is perpendicular to the Magnetic field.
b) This is a centripetal force that makes them take circular orbits. Find the radius of the orbit.
(a)
The magnetic force on charge q moving at velocity v in presence of magnetic field B is
The magnitude of the magnetic force is
where is the angle that velocity makes with the magnetic field. It is given that the velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field . The magnitude of the magnetic force is
For proton , , . The force on the proton is
(b)
The centripetal force required to move an object of mass m in a uniform circular motion of radius r at speed v is
The magnetic force provides the centripetal force necessary to move the proton in circular motion
The mass of the proton is . The radius of the circular motion is