Electric charge interacts with electric and magnetic fields from "summary" of Physics 11 by British Columbia. Schools Department. Curriculum Development Branch
When an electric charge moves, it creates both an electric field and a magnetic field. These fields interact with each other and with other charges in their vicinity. The electric field exerts a force on any other charged object placed in it. This force is proportional to the size of the charge and decreases with distance according to an inverse square law. The magnetic field, on the other hand, exerts a force on moving charges. The force is perpendicular to both the direction of the magnetic field and the velocity of the charge. In the presence of both electric and magnetic fields, charged particles experience a combined force that can cause them to move in a curved path. This phenomenon is known as the Lorentz force. The direction of the force depends on the relative orientations of the electric and magnetic fields as well as the velocity of the charged particle. If the fields are perpendicular to each other, the particle will move in a circular path. If they are parallel, the particle will move in a straight line. The interaction between electric charges and electric and magnetic fields plays a crucial role in many physical phenomena. For example, in a cathode ray tube, electrons are accelerated by an electric field and deflected by a magnetic field to produce images on a screen. In particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider, charged particles are accelerated to high speeds using electric fields and steered along their path using magnetic fields. Understanding how electric charges interact with electric and magnetic fields is essential for many areas of physics, from classical electromagnetism to modern particle physics. It allows scientists and engineers to design devices and systems that harness these interactions for practical applications, such as generating electricity, transmitting signals, and imaging the human body.
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