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Physics

Magnetism

Magnetic Field Strength: Force on a Moving

Charge in a Magnetic Field

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Describe the e ects of magnetic elds on moving

charges.

Use the right hand rule 1 to determine the velocity of a

charge, the direction of the magnetic eld, and the
direction of the magnetic force on a moving charge.

Calculate the magnetic force on a moving charge.

What is the mechanism by which one magnet exerts a force on another?

The answer is related to the fact that all magnetism is caused by current,
the ow of charge. Magnetic elds exert forces on moving charges, and
so they exert forces on other magnets, all of which have moving
charges.

Right Hand Rule 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 a ects 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 eld 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 de ne the magnetic
eld strength B—in terms of the force on a charged particle moving in a
magnetic eld. The SI unit for magnetic eld strength B is called the tesla
(T) after the eccentric but brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943). To

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determine how the tesla relates to other SI units, we solve F = qvB sin
θ for B.

F
B =
qv sin θ

Because sin θ is unitless, the tesla is

1 N 1 N
1 T = =
C⋅ m/s A⋅ m

(note that C/s = A). Another smaller unit, called the gauss (G), where 1
G = 10−4 T, is sometimes used. The strongest permanent magnets have
elds near 2 T; superconducting electromagnets may attain 10 T or
more. The Earth’s magnetic eld on its surface is only about 5 × 10−5 T,
or 0.5 G.

The direction of the magnetic force F is perpendicular to the plane

formed by v and B, as determined by the right hand rule 1 (or RHR-1),
which is illustrated in Figure 1. RHR-1 states that, to determine the
direction of the magnetic force on a positive moving charge, you point
the thumb of the right hand in the direction of v, the ngers in the
direction of B, and a perpendicular to the palm points in the direction of
F. One way to remember this is that there is one velocity, and so the
thumb represents it. There are many eld lines, and so the ngers
represent them. The force is in the direction you would push with your
palm. The force on a negative charge is in exactly the opposite direction
to that on a positive charge.

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Figure 1. Magnetic elds exert forces on

moving charges. This force is one of the
most basic known. The direction of the
magnetic force on a moving charge is
perpendicular to the plane formed by v
and B and follows right hand rule–1 (RHR-
1) as shown. The magnitude of the force
is proportional to q, v, B, and the sine of
the angle between v and B.

MAKING CONNECTIONS: CHARGES AND MAGNETS

There is no magnetic force on static charges. However,

there is a magnetic force on moving charges. When
charges are stationary, their electric elds do not a ect
magnets. But, when charges move, they produce magnetic
elds that exert forces on other magnets. When there is
relative motion, a connection between electric and
magnetic elds emerges—each a ects the other.

EXAMPLE 1. CALCULATING MAGNETIC FORCE:

EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD ON A CHARGED GLASS
ROD

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With the exception of compasses, you seldom see or

personally experience forces due to the Earth’s small magnetic
eld. To illustrate this, suppose that in a physics lab you rub a
glass rod with silk, placing a 20-nC positive charge on it.
Calculate the force on the rod due to the Earth’s magnetic
eld, if you throw it with a horizontal velocity of 10 m/s due
west in a place where the Earth’s eld is due north parallel to
the ground. (The direction of the force is determined with right
hand rule 1 as shown in Figure 2.)

Figure 2. A positively charged object moving due west in a

region where the Earth’s magnetic eld is due north
experiences a force that is straight down as shown. A
negative charge moving in the same direction would feel a
force straight up.

Strategy

We are given the charge, its velocity, and the magnetic eld
strength and direction. We can thus use the equation F = qvB
sin θ to nd the force.

Solution

The magnetic force is

F = qvB sin θ

We see that sin θ = 1, since the angle between the velocity and
the direction of the eld is 90º. Entering the other given
quantities yields

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−9 −5
F = (20 × 10 C) (10 m/s) (5 × 10 T)

−11 N −11
= 1 × 10 (C ⋅ m/s) ( ) = 1 × 10 N
C⋅ m/s

Discussion

This force is completely negligible on any macroscopic object,

consistent with experience. (It is calculated to only one digit,
since the Earth’s eld varies with location and is given to only
one digit.) The Earth’s magnetic eld, however, does produce
very important e ects, particularly on submicroscopic particles.
Some of these are explored in Force on a Moving Charge in a
Magnetic Field: Examples and Applications.

Section Summary

Magnetic elds exert a force on a moving charge q, the magnitude

of which is
F = qvB sin θ,
where θ is the angle between the directions of v and B.

The SI unit for magnetic eld strength B is the tesla (T), which is
related to other units by
1 N 1 N
1 T = =
C⋅ m/s A⋅ m

The direction of the force on a moving charge is given by right

hand rule 1 (RHR-1): Point the thumb of the right hand in the
direction of v, the ngers in the direction of B, and a perpendicular
to the palm points in the direction of F.

The force is perpendicular to the plane formed by v and B. Since

the force is zero if v is parallel to B, charged particles often follow
magnetic eld lines rather than cross them.

CONCEPTUAL QUESTIONS

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1. If a charged particle moves in a straight line through some

region of space, can you say that the magnetic eld in that
region is necessarily zero?

PROBLEMS & EXERCISES

1. What is the direction of the magnetic force on a positive

charge that moves as shown in each of the six cases shown in
Figure 3?

Figure 3.

2. Repeat Exercise 1 for a negative charge.

3. What is the direction of the velocity of a negative charge

that experiences the magnetic force shown in each of the
three cases in Figure 4, assuming it moves perpendicular to B?

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Figure 4.

4. Repeat Figure 4 for a positive charge.

5. What is the direction of the magnetic eld that produces the

magnetic force on a positive charge as shown in each of the
three cases in the gure below, assuming B is perpendicular to
v?

Figure 5.

6. Repeat Exercise 5 for a negative charge.

7. What is the maximum force on an aluminum rod with a 0.100-

μC charge that you pass between the poles of a 1.50-T
permanent magnet at a speed of 5.00 m/s? In what direction is
the force?

8. (a) Aircraft sometimes acquire small static charges. Suppose

a supersonic jet has a0.500-μC charge and ies due west at a
speed of 660 m/s over the Earth’s south magnetic pole, where
the 8.00 × 10−5-T magnetic eld points straight up. What are
the direction and the magnitude of the magnetic force on the
plane? (b) Discuss whether the value obtained in part (a)
implies this is a signi cant or negligible e ect.

9. (a) A cosmic ray proton moving toward the Earth at 5.00 ×

107 experiences a magnetic force of 1.70 × 10−16 N. What is the
strength of the magnetic eld if there is a 45º angle between it
and the proton’s velocity? (b) Is the value obtained in part (a)
consistent with the known strength of the Earth’s magnetic
eld on its surface? Discuss.

10. An electron moving at 4.00 × 103 m/s in a 1.25-T magnetic

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eld experiences a magnetic force of 1.40 × 10−16 N. What

angle does the velocity of the electron make with the magnetic
eld? There are two answers.

11. (a) A physicist performing a sensitive measurement wants to

limit the magnetic force on a moving charge in her equipment
to less than 1.00 × 10−12 N. What is the greatest the charge can
be if it moves at a maximum speed of 30.0 m/s in the Earth’s
eld? (b) Discuss whether it would be di cult to limit the
charge to less than the value found in (a) by comparing it with
typical static electricity and noting that static is often absent.

Glossary

right hand rule 1 (RHR-1):

the rule to determine the direction of the magnetic force
on a positive moving charge: when the thumb of the right
hand points in the direction of the charge’s velocity v and
the ngers point in the direction of the magnetic eld B,
then the force on the charge is perpendicular and away
from the palm; the force on a negative charge is
perpendicular and into the palm

Lorentz force:
the force on a charge moving in a magnetic eld

tesla:
T, the SI unit of the magnetic eld strength;
1 N
1 T =
A⋅ m

magnetic force:
the force on a charge produced by its motion through a
magnetic eld; the Lorentz force

gauss:

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G, the unit of the magnetic eld strength; 1 G = 10–4T

SELECTED SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS & EXERCISES

1. (a) Left (West) (b) Into the page (c) Up (North) (d) No force (e)
Right (East) (f) Down (South)

3. (a) East (right) (b) Into page (c) South (down)

5. (a) Into page (b) West (left) (c) Out of page

7. 7.50 × 10−7 N perpendicular to both the magnetic eld lines

and the velocity

9. (a) 3.01 × 10−5 T (b) This is slightly less then the magnetic
eld strength of 5 × 10−5 T at the surface of the Earth, so it is
consistent.

10. (a) 6.67 × 10−10 C (taking the Earth’s eld to be

5.00 × 10−5 T) (b) Less than typical static, therefore di cult

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