Physics lap report

Name: Zeyad Essam

Mohamed Shoeip

ID:120220017
GROUP:1
SECTION:1
Email: zeyad.shoeip@ejust.edu.eg
Experiment: Electron charge to mass ratio

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Abstract:
The electron mass and electron charge are very difficult to measure quantities. How
ever in the late 19th century a physicist called J.J Thompson was able to determine
the ratio between these two quantities by a revolutionized and easy to apply
experiment. In his experiment Thompson used the concept of a charged particle
moving inside a magnetic field to calculate the ratio. Knowing that a charged particle
moving inside a magnetic field experiences a magnetic force that makes it move in
a circular path. He was able to deduce a formula to calculate the ratio e/m using the
magnetic force laws and the Centripetal force law. e/m =2V/B2r2. The most
significant aspect of Thomson’s e/m measurements was that he found a single value
for this quantity. It did not depend on the material, or anything else about the
experiment. This independence showed that the particles in the beam, which we now
call electrons, are a common constituent of all matter. Thus, Thomson is credited
with the first discovery of a subatomic particle, the electron.

Aim of the experiment:

The aim of this experiment is to determine the ratio between the electron charge and
the electron mass. This value holds a great importance as it is very hard to determine
each value alone and the existence of this ratio is the first proof of the existence of
the electron and the first discovery of a subatomic particle.

Introduction:
In the late 19th century, the English physicist J.J Thompson conducted a
revolutionary experiment. He conducted this experiment to calculate the charge to
mass electron ratio using what is called the cathode ray tube. The cathode ray tube
is a device consisting of a vacuum tube that has a cathode and an anode both wired
to a battery to cause a voltage difference. it also has a positively charged metal plate
placed behind the anode as after applying the voltage difference the electrons leave
the cathode accelerating to the anode. After passing through the anode the positively
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charged metal plate accelerates the electrons even more and it gains more velocity.
The electrons then pass through a set of metal plates that has a voltage applied
between them to create an electric field. the device also has a magnetic field
perpendicular to the electric field. to understand why we place the electric field and
magnetic field we can look at another device called the velocity selector. In the
velocity selector positive ions from a source pass through a slit to a tube. Inside the
tube there are metal plates with a voltage applied between them to create an electric
field and there is a magnetic field perpendicular to that electric field same to J.J
Thompson cathode ray tube. when the particle moves through the two electric field
it gets affected by two forces an electric force and a magnetic force. As the positive
ion travels through the electric field, it gets affected by a force equal to qE supposing
that the electric field is from left to right then the force will be from left to right. As
the positive ion is traveling through the magnetic field with a velocity it gets affected by
a force. To know the direction of this force we need to use the right hand rule .
supposing the magnetic field is perpendicular to the device to the inside and the ion
is traveling with a velocity in the negative j direction then the magnetic force

would affect the body to move to the right. The magnitude of a force acting on a
moving charged.

Figure (1) Figure (2)

particle with velocity v through a magnetic field with a

magnitude B is equal to qvXB. This force is a Centripetal

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force as charged particles moving through a magnetic field experiences a magnetic
force that both perpendicular to the velocity and magnetic field. This fact causes the
magnitude of the velocity to be constant as the force does not have a component in
the direction of the velocity. however, the direction of the velocity changes as the
force acts perpendicular to the velocity causing the charged particle to move in a
circular path. kit is known that particles moving in circular path with constant speed
experience an acceleration with a value equal to v2/R. this makes the force qvB equal
to m v2/R. and finally we can say that eB = mv/R. for a particular value of v the
electric and magnetic forces will be equal in magnitude; the total force is then zero,
and the particle travels in a straight line with constant velocity. This will be the case
if qE = qvB (Figure 2) , so the speed v for which there is no deflection is v = E/B .
the same mechanism is used in the cathode ray tube the electron passing through the
two fields has velocity of E/B. knowing that the kinetic energy of the electron is
equal to eV as it is accelerated by an applied voltage and is also equal to 0.5 m v2 we

can say that 0.5 m v2 = eV therefore v= . Using the equation, we deduced

above v = E/B we can deduce that e/m= . There is also another theoretical way
that we can use to calculate the e/m using the same apparatus. This is the way we are
measuring e/m in this experiment. It depends on the way electrons behave in
magnetic fields. A charged particle travelling in a magnetic field is subjected to a
force that is both parallel to the particle's motion and perpendicular to the magnetic
field. The particle will move in a circle if its initial velocity is perpendicular to a
uniform magnetic field. As depicted in Figure 3. The fast electrons travelling through the
magnetic field have a trajectory that is determined by electrons moving In a
homogenous magnetic field, an electron moves in a circular route around the field
lines. The Lorentz relation determines the electron's equation of motion. This
relationship can be stated as if there is no electric field FB = - e(v × B) . Where FB

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denotes the magnetic force on the electron, e =1.6*10-19coulombs denotes the
electron's electric charge, v denotes the electron's velocity, and B denotes the
magnetic field. The helical path becomes a circular path as the electron goes in an
orbit perpendicular to the magnetic field, and the magnitude of the magnetic force is
FB = evB. For an electron of mass m moving at speed in a circle of radius, the
magnitude of the centripetal force is FC = mv2/R. therefore evB = mv2/R or eB =
mv/R. In this experiment, the electrons' initial potential energy is eU, where U is the
accelerating voltage employed in the electron-beam tube. This initial potential
energy is turned into kinetic energy(1/2)mv2 after the electrons are accelerated
through a voltage V. Because energy is conserved, we can deduce that eV=(1/2)mv2.
We can deduce from the equations above that e/m = 2V /B2 R2.

Figure (3)

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Now we will take about the e/m tube in detail and the parts it consists of. The e/m
Apparatus is a simple device for measuring e/m, the electron's charge to mass ratio.
J.J. Thomson employed a strategy similar to this in 1897. The velocity of electrons
is determined by accelerating a beam of electrons across a known voltage. At right
angles to the electron beam, a pair of Helmholtz coils provides a consistent and
quantifiable magnetic field. The electron beam is deflected in a circular direction by
the magnetic field. e/m is easily estimated by measuring the accelerating potential
(V), the current to the Helmholtz coils (I), and the radius of the circular path of the
electron beam (r). e/m is easily calculated: e/m = 2V/B2R2

Figure (4)

The e/m tube (see Figure 5) has an electron gun and deflection plates and is filled
with helium at a pressure of 10-2 mm Hg. Because some electrons hit with helium

Figure (5) Figure(6)

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atoms, which are energized and then radiate visible light, the electron beam creates
a visible trail in the tube. Figure 7 depicts the electron gun. The cathode, which emits
electrons, is heated by the heater. A voltage supplied between the cathode and the
anode accelerates the electrons. With respect to the cathode, the grid is positive,
while with respect to the anode, it is negative. It aids in the focusing of the electron
beam. The electrons can be deflected and focused by a grid that is aligned parallel
to the beam after they have exited through the anode's nose code.

Figure (7)

The Helmholtz coils:

Helmholtz coils have a certain shape. The magnetic field is highly uniform since the
radius of the coils is equal to their separation. The e/m apparatus' Helmholtz coils
have a radius of 15 cm and a spacing of 15 cm. There are 130 spins in each coil. The
magnetic field created by the coils (B) is proportional to the current flowing through
them (I) multiplied by 7.80 x 10-4 tesla/ampere.

The Controls:

The control panel of the e/m apparatus is straightforward. All connections are
labeled

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Mirrored scale:

The back of the rear Helmholtz coil has a mirrored scale connected to it. It is lit by
LEDs that turn on automatically when the electron gun's heater is turned on. You
may estimate the radius of the beam path without parallax error by aligning the
electron beam with its image in the mirrored scale.

Figure (8)

Experimental :

1- Wire as in figure 5.

2- Turn the accelerating voltage variable control and the -output control of DC power
supply to minimize the output.

3- Turn on the switch.

4- Keep the accelerating voltage value at 160 V and adjust the current flow in the
coils to change the intensity of the magnetic field and observe how the diameter of
the electron locus varies.

5- The radius of the electron locus is measured as shown in figure 6 with the hood
remove. With the indicator set to zero on the dial, fix the dial when your eye,

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indicator, and electron gun are aligned. Move the indicator to D and read the scale
to determine the diameter 2r of the electron locus.

The current, IH, flowing through a single Helmholtz coil determines the magnetic
field, B, produced by a pair of them. The radius of the coil, R, and the number of
turns, N, can be used to get the proportionality constant, k., on the coil. From
Equation . 8 𝐵 = (4/5)3/2 𝜇0NIH/R With this expression for B, the initial formula for
e/m 𝑒 /𝑚 = 2𝑉/ 𝐵2 𝑟2 Becomes: 𝑒 /𝑚 = 2𝑉 ( 5/ 4 )3 R2/ (𝑁𝜇0IHR)2 R = 158 mm and N
= 130 turns per coil V = Acceleration Voltage R = Radius of the Helmholtz coils N
= Number of turns on each coil 0 = Permeability constant (4 x 10-7) IH = Current
through the Helmholtz coils r = Radius of the electron beam (closed circle) to
calculate the e/m ratio we use the final form of equation 8 as the following 𝑒 /𝑚
= 3.3 × 106 𝑉/ 𝑟2I2 We calculate five value for e/m by changing I current values
starting with 1.4, up to 1.8 A.

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Results :

I(A) r(m) e/m(c/Kg)

1.4 3.3*10-2 2.474*1011

1.5 3.1*10-2 2.442*1011

1.6 2.9*10-2 2.452*1011

1.7 2.75*10-2 2.416*1011

1.8 2.6*10-2 2.411*1011

e/m=

2.474∗1011+2.442∗1011+2.452∗1011 +2.416∗1011 +2.411∗1011

Average of e/m=
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=2.439*1011 c/kg

Conclusion:

We were able to determine the ratio of the electron charge to the electron mass of a
value of 2.49*1011 c/kg. This value represented a huge understanding in the way we
perceive the structure of atoms as it was found to be a single value regardless of the
materials we use in the experiment. This independence showed that the particles in

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the beam, which we now call electrons, are a common constituent of all matter.

References:

1- the E/M ratio¶. 9. The e/m Ratio - Modern Lab Experiments documentation.
(n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2022, from
https://wanda.fiu.edu/boeglinw/courses/Modern_lab_manual3/em_ratio.html

2- Friedman, G., Druger, S. D., Kolakowska, A., Anderson, D., Bowman, D.,
Gasparov, L., LaRue, L., Lattery, M., Ludlow, R., Motl, P., Demaree, D., Ginsberg,
E. S., Smith, D., Trout, J., Wheelock, K., Pang, T., Podolak, K., Sato, T., Ling, S. J.,
… Janzen, D. (2018, November 28). 8.3 motion of a charged particle in a magnetic
field. Introduction to Electricity Magnetism and Circuits. Retrieved June 9, 2022,
from https://openpress.usask.ca/physics155/chapter/8-3-motion-of-a-charged-
particle-in-a-magnetic-
field/#:~:text=If%20the%20field%20is%20in,it%20forms%20a%20complete%20c
ircle.

3- E/M apparatus • se-9629. PASCO scientific. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2022, from
https://www.pasco.com/products/lab-apparatus/electricity-and-
magnetism/magnetic-fields/se-9629

4-J. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from

http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/history/thomson.html#:~:text=Thomson
%20found%20the%20same%20charge,a%20universal%20component%20of%20m
atter.

5-Measurement of charge-to-mass (E/m) ratio for the electron - william & mary.
(n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from
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https://ixnovi.people.wm.edu/phys251/web_manuals/emratio.pdf

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