Experiment no.

: 2
Objective: To experimentally determine the charge-to-mass ratio of
electron.

Apparatus:
Voltmeter
Ammeter
Electron beam tube/ Lorentz tube
Helmholtz coils
Magnetic field.
Caliper or ruler for measuring CRT beam displacement
Electron gun filament.
A.C supply.
Magnetizing current.

Theory:
Lorentz force, The Force exerted on a charged particle q moving with
velocity v through an electric E and magnetic field B. The entire electromagnetic
force F on the charged particle is called the Lorentz force (after the Dutch
physicist Hendricks and is given by

F = qE + qv B.

A particle moving in a circle of radius r must be held there by a centripetal

force:

m v2
Fc = __________ 1
r

In our case, that centripetal force is the Lorentz force, equation (1), so we
can write:

mv 2
evB= __________ 2
r

This equation contains the velocity v, which we can eliminate by using the
relationship between the electron kinetic energy and the accelerating
voltage from equation (2):
 v=
2 ev
m
______________ 3

e 2v
= 2 2 _____4
m B r

R = 2d and B= o I

Eq. 4 becomes

e V
=B 2 a 2
m I D
6
Here B = 9.88 x 10

In this equation, V is the voltage between cathode and anode and r is the
mean radius of the circular electron orbit, both of which can be measured,
and B is the magnetic field through which the electrons pass. We know the
magnetic field at the center of the Helmholtz coil, which can be obtained
from a measurement of the current through the coils, the dimension of the
coils and the number of turns. The magnetic field does not change very
much away from the center of the coils.

Diagram :
Procedure:
Set the apparatus as shown in fig.
Turn on the power switch.
 Leave the apparatus for 5 minutes to warm-up before taking
measurements.
Turn the Voltage Adjust control up to 200V and observe the bottom of
the electron gun. The bluish beam will be traveling straight down to
the envelope of the tube.
Turn the Current Adjust control up and observe the circular deflection
of the bluish beam. When the current is high enough, the beam will
form a complete circle within the envelope. By rotating the tube
between 90 to 130 angle to make straight circle
Measured diameter of blue beam circle using the centimeter scale
inside of the tube.
After finding diameter calculate e/m value using the formula
e V
=B 2 a 2 .
m I D

Calculations and Observations:

Here B = 9.88 x 106 d = 8cm =0.08m

V = 200v I = 1.3A

e V
=B 2 a 2
m I D

Putting values we get

e 200
=9.88 x 106
m (1.3)2(0.08)2

Calculated value of e/m:

e
= 1.8 x 1011 c/kg
m

The actual value of e/m ;

e
= 1.7 x 1011 c/kg
m

Error = 1.8 x 1011 c/kg - 1.7 x 1011 c/kg

10
=1x 10 c/kg
 10
1 x 10
Error= 11
100
1.7 x 10

Error=5.8