What is a magnetic field? What are magnetic field lines?
Magnetic fields are historically described in terms of their effect on electric charges. A moving electric charge, such as an electron, will accelerate in the presence of a magnetic field, causing it to change velocity and its direction of travel. This is, for example, the principle used in televisions, computer monitors, and other devices with CRTs (cathode-ray tubes). In a CRT, electrons are emitted from a hot filament. A voltage difference pulls these electrons from the filament to the picture screen. Electromagnets surrounding the tube cause these electrons to change direction, so they hit different locations on the screen. This is how it works: An electrically charged particle moving in a magnetic field will experience a force (known as the Lorentz force) pushing it in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and the direction of motion: As a result of this force, the charged particle accelerates in the direction of the force (this is Newton’s second law). In the diagram ab
Magnetic fields are historically described in terms of their effect on electric charges. A moving electric charge, such as an electron, will accelerate in the presence of a magnetic field, causing it to change velocity and its direction of travel. This is, for example, the principle used in televisions, computer monitors, and other devices with CRTs (cathode-ray tubes). In a CRT, electrons are emitted from a hot filament. A voltage difference pulls these electrons from the filament to the picture screen. Electromagnets surrounding the tube cause these electrons to change direction, so they hit different locations on the screen. This is how it works: An electrically charged particle moving in a magnetic field will experience a force (known as the Lorentz force) pushing it in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and the direction of motion: As a result of this force, the charged particle accelerates in the direction of the force (this is Newton’s second law). In the diagram ab
