DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

Group #2
Ahmed Sami, Ali Hassan, Zeeshan Afzal & Arslan Zahoor
Semester #4
Experiment: To measure the ratio of the electron charge-to-mass ratio
e/m by studying the
Electron trajectories in a uniform magnetic field.
Submitted to: Dr Sarmad Shaheen Masood
Lab lV
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Problem statement:
To measure the ratio of the electron charge-to-mass ratio e/m by studying the electron
trajectories in a uniform magnetic field.

Aim:
To study the charge-to-mass (e/m) ratio of cathode rays (electrons) in a cathode-ray tube (CRT).

APPARATUS:
Pasco e/m apparatus (SE-9638), Pasco High Voltage Power supply (for the accelerating voltage
and the filament heater), GW power supply (for the Helmholtz coils), two digital mustimeters.
FORMULA USED:
This charge-to-mass “e/m” ratio of the electron is given by the formula.
ⅇ 2V
=
m B2 r 2

HISTORY/THEORY:
What is an Electron?
The electron is a low-mass, negatively charged particle. As Such, it can easily be deflected by
passing close to other electrons or the positive nucleus of an atom.
The history of atomic structure and quantum mechanics dates back to the times of Democritus,
the man who first proposed that matter is composed of atoms. These theories could not gain
much importance due to lack of technology.

J.J. Thomson first measured the charge-to-mass ratio of the fundamental particle of charge in a
cathode ray tube in 1897. A cathode ray tube basically consists of two metallic plates in a glass

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tube which has been evacuated and filled with a
very small amount of
background gas. One plate is
heated (by passing a current
through it) and “particles”
boil off of the cathode and
accelerate towards the other
plate which is held at a
positive potential. The gas
in between the plates in
elastically scatters the
electrons, emitting light
which shows the path of the
particles. The charge-to-mass
(e/m) ratio of the particles can
be measured by observing
their motion in an applied
magnetic field. Thomson
repeated his measurement of
e/m many times with
different metals for
cathodes and also different
gases. Having reached
the same value for e/m
every time, it was concluded
that a fundamental
particle having a negative charge e
and a mass 2000 times less than
the lightest atom existed in all atoms.
Thomson named these particles “corpuscles” but we now know
them as electrons.

Charge to Mass Ratio of Electron:

The charge to mass ratio of electron is given by:

ⅇ /m=1.758820(〖 x 10 〗11 C)/ Kg

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PRECAUTIONS AND SOURCES OF ERROR:
The voltage for a filament heater should never exceed 6.3 VAC. Higher values can burn out
filament. The Helmholtz current should NOT exceed 2 amps. To avoid accidental overshoot run
the power supply at a “low” setting in a constant current mode.

Calculations:

S.No V I d r B e/m
01 150 1 7.1 3.55 0.963〖 x 10 〗−5 2.56〖 x 10 〗11
02 200 1.2 7.3 3.65 1.156〖 x 10 〗−5 2.24〖 x 10 〗11
03 250 1.4 8.1 4.05 1.328〖 x 10 〗−5 1.67〖 x 10 〗11

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