Lab 1, Problem 4: Deflection of an Electron Beam by an Electric Field

Jason Woitalla
February 17th, 2020
Physics 1302W, Professor: P. Haines, TA: J. Schulze
Abstract
Firing an electron through a cathode ray tube (CRT) can be used to determine how
the electron reacts to a change in the strength of an electric field that deflects it. An
equation was derived to calculate how the displacement of the electron would change
with the change in the voltage applied to the deflection plates. The derived equation
showed that voltage and displacement have a linear relationship. The data from the
experiment also showed that the deflection voltage and displacement have a linear
relationship. Dimensional analysis of the data measured matched up with the derived
equation proving that the predicted equation is accurate. The conclusion reached is
that the displacement of an electron being deflected is linearly proportional to the
strength of the electric field.
Introduction
This laboratory experiment is to see what happens to an electron that is fired through a Cathode
Ray Tube (CRT). The electron is fired with an initial velocity and then passes through an electric
field created by a pair of deflection plates. After the electron passes the deflection e-field, it
travels in a no field zone until it hits a phosphor screen and the displacement can be measured.
The results of the experiment are determined by several factors including, the strength of the
deflection e-field, the electron’s initial velocity, the length of the deflection plates, and the
distance from the metal plates to the screen. The inside of the CRT with the deflection plats is
depicted in figure 1.

Figure 1: Diagram of the inside of the CRT. The electron is being fired through the deflection
plates with an initial velocity and gets displayed on a screen.
 Predictions
In order to derive an equation for the change of x for an electron accelerating in a CRT, a few
assumptions must be made. It will be assumed that the acceleration the electron goes through in
the CRT will remain constant, this will allow the use of kinematic equations with constant
acceleration. Another assumption is that gravity will be ignored for all calculations because it has
a very minimal effect on the electrons due to their very small mass. From there the process will
involve putting the kinematic equations into known values.
The constant acceleration of the CRT is given by the equation 𝐹 = 𝑒𝐸 = 𝑚𝑎, where solving for
𝑒𝐸
a gives 𝑎 = 𝑚 . This acceleration can now be used to find the electron’s position with kinematic
𝑒
equations, where there is constant acceleration in the y-axis with no initial position or velocity,
and a constant velocity with no acceleration or initial position in the x-axis.
1 (1)
𝑦(𝑡) = 𝑒𝐸𝑡 2
2𝑚𝑒

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑣0 𝑡 (2)
Time is the same for both directions of motion, so t can be solved for in the x-direction and then
used in the y-direction. 𝑥(𝑡) is equal to L (from Figure 1) so rearranging equation 1 to solve for t
𝐿 1 𝐿2
gives, 𝑡 = 𝑣 . Plugging this new value of t into equation 1 gives 𝑦(𝑡) = 2𝑚 𝑒𝐸 𝑣2 . This equation
0 𝑒 0
is only true while the electron is accelerating in the CRT and can no longer be used when it
leaves. There needs to be another kinematic equation that describes the electron’s motion after it
leaves the deflection plates. For this equation, the electron has a starting position given by
equation 1 and now has a velocity with no acceleration. This velocity can be found by
multiplying the acceleration by t. Adding these two components gives an equation total
movement of the electron in the y-direction, which is also Δx.

𝑒𝐸𝐿 𝑒𝐸 𝐿2 (3)
𝑦𝑓 (𝑡) = ∆𝑥 = 𝑡2 + ∗
𝑚𝑒 𝑣0 2𝑚𝑒 𝑣02
There is now a new value for time represented by 𝑡2 , which can be solved for by the movement
of the x-direction, which has not changed from equation 2. Now instead of 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝐿, 𝑥(𝑡) is now
𝑑
equal to d (from figure 1) which gives 𝑡2 = 𝑣 . That can now be substituted into equation 3, but it
0
will not give a very useful equation because 𝑣0 is still unknown and needs to be substituted for a
known value. While 𝑣0 can’t be measured the voltage of the accelerating plates can be so energy
1
can be used to solve for 𝑣0 which is 𝑒𝑉𝑎𝑐𝑐 = 2 𝑚𝑒 𝑣02 . Solving for 𝑣02 is an equation of known
values that can be plugged into equation 3. Since the deflection voltage is what is being changed
𝑉
E can be subsisted in terms of V with the equation 𝐸 = , (D from figure 1). After all the
𝐷
substitutions a final equation for Δx can be found.
𝑉𝐿 𝐿 (4)
∆𝑥 = (𝑑 + )
2𝐷𝑉𝑎𝑐𝑐 2
 Data
The data collected during the lab was the applied voltage to the deflection plates and Δx. The
values of L and d (from figure 1) were given as L = 2cm and d = 7.4cm. The acceleration voltage
was kept constant at 250V for the entire experiment. All values for the deflection voltage had an
uncertainty of ±0.1V and uncertainty for the measured Δx was ±0.05cm.

ΔX vs Voltage
3.5

3 y = 0.1591x - 0.0018

2.5

2
ΔX (cm)

1.5

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20
-0.5
Voltage (V)

Figure 2: This a graph of raw data of the change in X vs the voltage of the acceleration plates. A
trendline was added to highlight the linear relationship. The slope of the graph is 0.1591 cm/V
and the y-intercept is -0.0018cm.

Analysis
Figure 2 has a clear liner fit that matches equation 4. The slope of figure 2 is cm/V which is the
same units as the derivative of equation 4, which means the slope represents the constants that
are present in equation 4. The reason the y-intercept is -0.0018 instead of 0 comes from error
being present in the lab, but the values are so small that they are negligible when analyzing
results.
Error from this lab came from a few places that had to do with the equipment provided. Overall
the results have a low error, but it could have been mitigated. The power supply that powered the
deflection plates didn’t stay at a constant value and would fluctuate which caused the voltage to
have uncertainty. The biggest source of error was reading the position of the electron on the
phosphor screen because of the grid system. The electron moved diagonally across the grid
increasing the uncertainty of the measurements. Gridlines were large and unprecise which also
increased uncertainty.
 Conclusion
In conclusion, the data from the lab shows that deflection voltage and displacement have a linear
relationship which supports the prediction that equation 4 sets-up. Since the electric field and
voltage are also proportionally related the conclusion is that increasing the deflection e-field will
increase the displacement in a linear amount. The error present was small but was mainly with
the reading of the displacement of the electron. Using a more precise screen in a future
experiment could help reduce the error.