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Unit 4: Further Mechanics, Fields and Particles

Further Mechanics

FURTHER MOMENTUM

- The momentum of a body is defined as the product of its mass and its velocity.
𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
- Momentum is a vector quantity.
- Direction of momentum is always the same as that of its velocity.
- According to Newton’s Second Law: The rate of change of (linear) momentum of an object
is directly proportional to the resultant force acting on it.
- If the force acting on a body is constant, then Newton’s second law can be written as
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 − 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
𝑚𝑣 − 𝑚𝑢
𝐹=
𝑡

- If the force acting is not constant, then we have:

𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 − 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Impulse

The impulse of a constant force is given by:

𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠

𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐹 × 𝑡

𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = (𝑚𝑣 − 𝑚𝑢)

𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚

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Law of Conservation of Momentum

The total momentum of a system before collision is equal to the total momentum after collision
provided no external forces are acting on the system.

𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚1 𝑢1 + 𝑚2 𝑢2

𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2

𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚

(𝑚1 𝑢1 + 𝑚2 𝑢2 ) = (𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2 )

- Total momentum is only conserved when no external forces (such as friction) act on the
system.
- In a collision in which two objects join together to become one and move off together, they
are often said to coalesce. In such collision masses are added.
- Explosion is a situation in which a stationary object (or system of joined objects) separates
into component parts, which move off at different velocities. Momentum must be
conserved in explosions.

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Conservation of Momentum in Two Dimensions

1. Explosions
- Before exploding, a stationary object has zero momentum.
- Therefore, the vector sum of the momentums of all particles after the explosion must also equal
zero. There is no resultant momentum vector.
- If there are three masses in the explosion, adding the momentums will form a closed triangle of
momentum vectors.

2. Oblique Collision, two particles sticking together

- When two masses collide and stick together, a third momentum vector is formed.
- From conservation of momentum, the sum of the two vectors before the collision must equal the
single resultant momentum vector after the collision.

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3. Oblique collision, moving mass strikes a stationary mass.

- From conservation of momentum, the single vector momentum of the projectile mass before
must equal the sum of the vector momentums of the projectile mass and target mass after.
- This forms another momentum triangle, though the set-up is slightly different from the previous
example.

Calculations in two dimensional collisions

Before Collision After Collision

Momentum should be conserved in any directions. For convenience consider x and y directions
X- direction
Before collision After collision
m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1cos θ1 + m2v2cos θ2
y- direction
Before collision After collision
0 = m1v1sin θ1 + m2v2sin θ2

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VERIFICATION OF LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

Apparatus
Linear air-track, two trolleys, two light gates, dual timer, black card.

Glider 2

1. Level the air-track.

2. Measure the mass of each vehicle m1 and m2 respectively, including attachments, using a
balance.
3. Measure the length l of the black card in meters
4. With vehicle 2 stationary, give vehicle 1 a gentle push. After collision the two vehicles
coalesce and move off together.
5. Read the transit times t1 and t2 for the card through the two beams.
𝑙
6. Calculate the velocity before the collision, 𝑢 = 𝑡
1

𝑙
7. Calculate the velocity after the collision, 𝑢 = 𝑡
2

8. Calculate the momentum before the collision, 𝑝𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑚1 𝑢 and the momentum after the
collision, 𝑝𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 = (𝑚1 + 𝑚2 ) 𝑣.
9. If 𝑝𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑝𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 , momentum is conserved.
10. Repeat several times, with different velocities and different masses.

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Relation between Kinetic energy and momentum

𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣

𝑝2 = 𝑚2 𝑣 2

𝑝2
= 𝑚𝑣 2
𝑚

𝑝2 1
= 𝑚𝑣 2
2𝑚 2

𝒑𝟐
= 𝑲𝑬
𝟐𝒎

Elastic and inelastic collision

An elastic collision is a collision where kinetic energy is conserved during impact.
These collisions do not happen in reality as some energy is often converted into other forms such
as heat for example. Most collisions are inelastic.

An inelastic collision is a collision where kinetic energy is not conserved during impact.
Collisions can also be partially inelastic and totally elastic.
A partially inelastic collision could be one where the colliding objects move apart after impact.
Whereas, in a totally inelastic collision, the objects would couple together after colliding (this type
of collision causes a greater energy loss).

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Elastic collision between equal masses

For a non-head-on elastic collision between equal masses, the angle between the velocities after
the collision will always be 90°.

For non-head-on collisions, where the projectile is much more massive than the target, the angle
between projectile and target is always less than 90°.

In the case of a non-head on elastic collision between a small projectile and a much more massive
target, the angle of the projectiles path after the collision will be more than 90° away from the
target’s motion.

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CIRCULAR MOTION
- Uniform circular motion: motion in a circle of constant radius at constant speed.
- This change in velocity produces an acceleration. This acceleration is called the centripetal
acceleration, and it points toward the center of the circle.
- In order to provide this acceleration, there should be a resultant force acting on the body
called centripetal force.

- During a circular motion there is no centrifugal force pointing outward; what happens is that the
natural tendency of the object to move in a a straight line (according to newton's first law) must be
overcome.
- If the centripetal force vanishes, the object flies off at a tangent to the circle.

Work done in Circular Motion

Work done = F d cos θ, where F is the force, d is the displacement and θ is the angle between
force and displacement
In circular motion, θ is 90°. Hence work done = 0.
So no change in the kinetic energy of the body and it moves with constant speed.

Difference between Linear Motion and Angular Motion

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Terms associated with Circular Motion

Time Period (T): Time taken to complete one rotation / revolution measured in seconds
Frequency (f): Number of rotations or revolutions per second measured in Hz or s-1.

- Commonly used units; rpm, rps and rph

- 𝑓=1/𝑇

Linear Speed (v):

- Distance covered along the circle per unit time. 𝑣=Δ𝑠/Δ𝑡. Unit is ms-1.

- For one complete rotation, Δ𝑠=2𝜋𝑟, Δ𝑡=𝑇

𝑣 = 2𝜋𝑟/𝑇
Angular Speed (ω):

- Rate at which central angle changes

- Angular speed is angle covered per unit time. 𝜔=Δ𝜃/Δ𝑡. Unit is rad s-1.

- For one complete circular motion, 𝜃=2𝜋, Δ𝑡=𝑇

𝜔 = 2𝜋/𝑇, 𝜔 = 2𝜋1/𝑓 = 2𝜋𝑓

Formulae in circular motion

Linear Speed (v) Angular Speed (ω)
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑
𝐿𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛
For one complete revolution, For one complete revolution,
2𝜋𝑟 2𝜋
𝑣= 𝑣=
𝑇 𝑇

Comparing equations above,

𝒗 = 𝒓𝝎

where v = speed (ms-1)

ω = angular speed (rad s )
-1

r = radius of circle (m)

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Centripetal Acceleration Centripetal Force

𝑣2 𝑚𝑣 2
𝑎= 𝐹=
𝑟 𝑟

𝑎 = 𝑟𝜔2 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑟𝜔2

Examples of circular motion

Planetary Motion
The centripetal force is provided by the gravitational force between the planet and the sun.

An object on the earth's surface

Any object on the earth’s surface is in circular motion, due to the rotation of earth.

𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑅

𝑚𝑣 2
= 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑅
𝑟

Mass on a turntable / A car on a level road

The centripetal force is provided by the friction between the mass and the turntable. So if the speed
is too high, the friction may not provide sufficient centripetal force, and the mass will move out of
the table.
R
R = normal reaction
F = frictional force
mg = weight of the car

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Motion in vertical circle – London Eye

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated in England. The centripetal force acting on a
person inside a capsule is provided by different forces at different positions.
𝑚𝑣 2 R
At A 𝑟 = 𝑚𝑔 − 𝑅

𝑚𝑣 2
At B 𝑅 = 𝑚𝑔, 𝑟
= 𝑝𝑢𝑠ℎ 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑡 R
mg
Push
𝑚𝑣 2 by seat
At C = 𝑅 − 𝑚𝑔
𝑟 R
mg

mg
The conical pendulum
A mass on a string, moving in horizontal circles. The centripetal force is produced by the horizontal
component of the tension in the string

𝑚𝑔 = 𝑇 𝐶𝑜𝑠 𝜃
𝑚𝑣2 /𝑟 = 𝑇 𝑆𝑖𝑛 𝜃
To find v, divide equation 2 by equation 1
𝑣2 /𝑟𝑔 = tan 𝜃 (𝑟 = 𝑙 𝑆𝑖𝑛 𝜃)

Banked Track
Racing tracks are banked (sloped) at bends, which assists the cars in turning. The centripetal force
is provided by the horizontal component of the Normal contact force of the track on the car

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Leaving the circular path

A body will move out of the circular path if the force(s) providing the centripetal force become
insufficient to hold the body to the circular path. After leaving the circular path, the body will
initially go off at a tangent.

Critical speed
It is the speed at which a body in circular motion just loses its contact with the surface and enters
to the state of free fall. Example: car on a bridge.
𝒎𝒗𝟐/𝒓 = 𝒎𝒈−𝑹
As the speed increases, centripetal force required to move in the circular path increases.
So, R decreases since mg is constant. Finally, at a particular speed R becomes zero. This speed is
called critical speed.
At Critical Speed, 𝑚𝑣2/𝑟 = 𝑚𝑔 (𝑅=0) 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝑣 = √𝑟𝑔

Electric and Magnetic Fields

ELECTRIC FIELDS

Electric Charge
- Electric charge can be positive or negative. Traditionally, charge of proton is considered
positive and that of electron negative.
- Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract.
- SI unit of charge is coulomb denoted by C. It is the charge passing in 1 second through any
cross-section of a conductor carrying 1 ampere current.
- Magnitude of charge on an electron or a proton is 1.6 × 10-19 C
Electric fields
- An electric field is the region around a charged object where another charged object
experiences an electrostatic force.
- Electric Field Lines : Electric field is represented by drawing field lines.

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Properties of field lines

- Field lines point in the same direction as the field.
- Density of lines gives the magnitude of the field.
- Field Lines begin on + charges; end on – charges.
- There is an electric field at every point in space surrounding a charge.
- Field lines always start at a right-angle (90o) to the charged object causing the field.
- Field lines never cross.
Electric field due to a positive charge Electric field due to a negative charge

Electric field between two opposite charges Electric field between two identical charges

Electric field between two oppositely charged plates

Electric field between a positive charge and a negatively charged plate

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Electric Field Strength (E)

- Electric field strength is defined as the force per unit charge experienced by a test charge
at that point.
- The direction of the electric field at any point is the direction of the force experienced by a
positive charge at that point.
E = F/q OR F = qE

Coulomb’s Law

Coulomb’s law states that the force between two-point charges is directly proportional to the
product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
𝒌𝑸𝟏 𝑸𝟐
𝑭=
𝒓𝟐
where Q1 and Q2 are the two charges r is the distance between them.
F is the force k is Coulomb's constant
k =1/4πε0 where ε0 is called the permittivity of free space.
k = 8.99 × 109Nm2 C−2

Types of electric field

1. Radial Field (eg: Point charges, Spherical charges)
- The electric field for such a charge can be found from Coulomb's law.
- The force on a test charge q in the presence of a charge Q is given by:
𝑘𝑞𝑄
𝐹=
𝑟2
But from the definition of electric field, we also have:
𝑘𝑞𝑄
𝐹 = 𝐸𝑞, 𝑆𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑞 =
𝑟2
𝑘𝑄
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝐸 = 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑄
𝑟2
Variation of E with distance follows an inverse square law

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2. Uniform field (eg: Charged parallel plates)

Properties
- Field lines are parallel and equidistant.
- Field strength (E) is constant

Electric field strength(E) at any point inside a uniform field is given by:

E=V/d

V is the potential difference between the two plates.

d is the distance between plates.
Note: This shows that electric field strength can also have units of Vm-1.

- E is constant whatever the position between the plates

Electrical potential
- The potential at a point in an electric field is defined as the work done in bringing a test
unit positive charge from infinity to that point. (The potential of a charge at infinity is
always defined to be zero).
- Electric potential is a measure of the potential energy per unit charge.
V=W/Q

- For a point charge Q, V=KQ/d

- If the charge creating an electric field is positive, then since "like charges repel", work must
be done to bring a test positive charge in from infinity.
- However, if the charge creating the field is negative, then as "unlike charges attract", the
work done to bring in a test positive charge from infinity is negative.
- The potential due to a positive charge is positive.
- The potential due to negative charge is negative.

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Equipotential surfaces

- Equipotential is a surface joining all the points which have the same electric potential.
- Equipotential are at right angles to field lines.

CAPACITORS

- A capacitor is an electrical component that has the ability to store charge.

- Structurally a capacitor consists of two parallel metal plates with an insulator in between
them, electrostatically separating or isolating the two plates from each other.
- The insulator may be air, paper, perspex or any other material with high insulative
properties.

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- The amount of charge on a capacitor will depend on how much voltage is applied to it.

𝑄∝𝑉 𝑜𝑟 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉

Where C is the capacitance of the capacitor.

- Capacitance is a measure of how much charge a capacitor can hold.

- Capacitance is defined as the charge per unit volt that a capacitor can hold.
𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉

- Unit of capacitance is Farad (F).

- One farad is a huge capacitance. Capacitors that are mostly used in electronic devices are
measured in microfarads (μF) or even picofarads (pF).

𝑄
𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 = = 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝐶)
𝑉
1
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ = 𝑄𝑉 = 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑
2
1 1 1 𝑄2
𝐸 = 𝑄𝑉 = 𝐶𝑉 2 =
2 2 2 𝐶
Energy given by the cell = QV.

So only half of the energy given by the cell is stored in

the capacitor.

Charging and Discharging of a capacitor

Charging through a resistor

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Discharging through a resistor

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Half life and Time constant of a capacitor

- The Half Life time (T1/2 ) is the time required for the pd across or charge on the plates of
the capacitor to decrease by half of its initial value.
- The Time constant T is the time required for the pd across the plates of the capacitor or
the charge on the plates of the capacitor to decrease to 1/e times its initial value
(approximately 37%).
Half life

During discharge the half life time T1/2 would be equivalent for the pd V0 to decrease to V0/2.
𝑉 = 𝑉0 𝑒 −𝑡/𝑅𝐶

𝐴𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑇1/2 , 𝑉 = 𝑉0 /2

𝑆𝑜 𝑉0 /2 = 𝑉0 𝑒 −𝑇1/2 /𝑅𝐶

1
𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 𝑉0 , = 𝑒 −𝑇1/2 /𝑅𝐶
2

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 2 = 𝑒 𝑇1/2/𝑅𝐶

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑛 2 = 𝑇1/2 /𝑅𝐶

𝑻𝟏/𝟐 = 𝑹𝑪 𝐥𝐧 𝟐

Time Constant
During discharge, the Time constant, T would be equivalent for the pd V0 to decrease to V0/e.
𝑉 = 𝑉0 𝑒 −𝑡/𝑅𝐶

𝐴𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑇, 𝑉 = 𝑉0 /𝑒 𝑆𝑜 𝑉0 /𝑒 = 𝑉0 𝑒 −𝑇/𝑅𝐶

1
𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑦 𝑉0 , = 𝑒 −𝑇/𝑅𝐶
𝑒

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 𝑒 = 𝑒 𝑇/𝑅𝐶

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑛 𝑒 = 𝑇/𝑅𝐶

1 = 𝑇/𝑅𝐶

𝑻 = 𝑹𝑪

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Combination of Capacitors

Capacitors in parallel
Capacitors in parallel have common voltages across their plates but different charges that depend
upon the capacitance of the capacitor.

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒, 𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2 + 𝑄3

𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉, 𝑄1 = 𝐶1 𝑉, 𝑄2 = 𝐶2 𝑉 , 𝑄3 = 𝐶3 𝑉

𝑆𝑜, 𝐶𝑉 = 𝐶1 𝑉 = 𝐶2 𝑉 = 𝐶3 𝑉

𝑪 = 𝑪𝟏 + 𝑪𝟐 + 𝑪𝟑

Capacitors in series

Capacitors in series exhibit a common charge but have different voltages across them depending
upon the capacitance of the capacitor.

𝑄
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉𝑇 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉 =
𝐶

𝑄 𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
= + +
𝐶𝑇 𝐶1 𝐶2 𝐶3

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + +
𝑪 𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝟑

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ELECTROMAGNETIC EFECTS

Magnetic Field
- It is a region where a magnetic pole experiences a force.
- Field lines show the direction of magnetic field.

- Magnetic field lines start from north pole and end in south pole.
- Strength of magnetic field at any point is given by Magnetic field stregth (B) .
- The SI Unit of magnetic field strength is a Tesla (T).

Magnetic field around a current carrying conductor

- When a current is flowing through a conductor, a magnetic field is formed around it.

- The direction of field can be found using right hand grip rule.
- If you know the direction the current is going (from positive to negative) you can put your
hand on the wire, and wrap your fingers round. Fingers point in the direction of the
magnetic field.

- When we are drawing directions of magnetic fields and currents, we use the symbol ⊙ and
⊗.
- The symbol ⊙ for an arrow that is coming out of the page and the symbol ⊗ for an arrow
that is going in to the page.

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Force on a current carrying conductor in a magnetic field (Motor effect)

- A current-carrying conductor produces a magnetic field around it.
- If this conductor is placed in a uniform external magnetic field, such that the two magnetic
fields are not oriented in the same direction, then the magnetic fields interact with each
other. This interaction causes a force on the conductor.
- Thus, a current carrying conductor placed in an external uniform magnetic field, in a
direction other than the direction of the magnetic field, will experience a force.

- Experimentally, it has been found that the magnitude of the force acting on a current-
carrying conductor placed in an external magnetic field is directly proportional to the
current (I) through the conductor, the strength of magnetic field (B), and the length of the
conductor (L), inside the magnetic field.
𝐹 = 𝐵𝐼𝐿 sin 𝜃

Where θ is the angle between the direction of the magnetic field and the direction
of the current.

- If the conductor is perpendicular to the field, θ = 90°, then sin 𝜃 = 1. So the conductor
experiences maximum force when it is perpendicular to the field, given by:

𝐹 = 𝐵𝐼𝐿

- If the conductor is parallel to the field, θ = 0° or 180° then sin 𝜃 = 0. So the conductor
experiences NO force when it is parallel to the field.
- The direction of force is found using Fleming's Left Hand Rule.

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Fleming’s Left Hand rule

- To find the direction of force experienced by a current carrying conductor in magnetic
field, we use Fleming's Left Hand Rule.
* Your first finger points in the direction of the magnetic field (North to South).
* Your second finger points in the direction of conventional current (positive to negative).
* Your thumb points in the direction of the thrust or force on the conductor.

Force between two parallel current carrying conductors

- The current in each wire produces a magnetic field around it. This field will produce a force
on the other wire.
- If the direction of current in both wires are same, force is attractive.
- If the direction of current in both wires are opposite, force is repulsive.
- The direction of force on each wire can be found either by plotting field lines or by using
Fleming’s Left Hand Rule as shown below.

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Applications
Electric motor
An electric motor transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy.

The sides of the coil AB and CD experience equal

and opposite forces, which make the coil rotate.

Commutator switches current directions in the coil so

that each side experiences force in the same direction
always. As a result, the coil rotates continuously.

Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker transforms electrical energy into sound waves.

- The electrical signal pass through a coil wound around the neck of a paper cone as shown
in the diagram.
- This coil acts as an electromagnetic which is located near a permanent magnet.
- When current flows one way, magnetic force pushes the electromagnet away from the
permanent magnet, pushing the cone outwards.
- When current flows the other way, the cone is pushed inwards.
- Vibrations in the electric signal then cause the cone to vibrate.
- Vibrations of the cone produce sound waves in air.

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Force on a charged particle in a magnetic field.

- In the previous section we have seen that a force acts on a current carrying conductor placed
in a magnetic field.
- Since current is due to the flow of charges, each moving charge in the wire experiences a
force.
- No force acts on a stationary charge since current is zero when charge is not moving.
- The magnitude of the force acting on a moving charge magnetic field is directly
proportional to the strength of magnetic field (B), charge on the particle (q), and the
velocity of the particle (v).
𝐹 = 𝐵𝑞𝑣 sin 𝜃

Where θ is the angle between the direction of the magnetic field and the direction
of motion of the charge.
- If the charge moves is perpendicular to the field, θ = 90°, then sin θ = 1. So the particle
experiences maximum force .
𝐹 = 𝐵𝑞𝑣

- Since this force acts perpendicular to the direction of motion of the charge, it provides
centripetal force for the charge to move in a circular path.
- The direction of force on the charged particle can be found using Fleming's Left Hand
Rule.
- Here the direction of motion of positive charge is taken as the direction of current.
(Since current is the flow of positive charges) .
- If the charge is negative, the direction of current is opposite to the direction of motion of
the charge.

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Circular motion of charged particle in magnetic field

- The centripetal force is provided by the magnetic force on the charge

𝑚𝑣 2
= 𝐵𝑞𝑣
𝑟

The following quantities can be derived from the above relation

radius of the particle velocity of the particle

𝑚𝑣 𝐵𝑞𝑟
= 𝐵𝑞 𝑣=
𝑟 𝑚

𝑚𝑣
𝑟=
𝐵𝑞

Time period of the particle Frequency of the particle

𝐵𝑞𝑟 1
𝑣= 𝑓=𝑇
𝑚

2𝜋𝑟 𝐵𝑞
𝑣= 𝑇 = 2𝜋𝑚
𝑇

𝐵𝑞𝑟 2𝜋𝑟
=
𝑚 𝑇

2𝜋𝑚
𝑇=
𝐵𝑞

Cyclotron

The cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator which makes use of the magnetic force on a moving
charge to bend moving charges into a circular path.

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Mass Spectrometer
A mass spectrometer separates charged particles (usually ions) based on their mass.

- Initially the charged particles (or ions) are accelerated through a potential difference.
- The ions emerge from the acceleration stage with a range of speeds. To distinguish between
the ions based on their masses, they must enter the mass separation stage with identical
velocities.
- This is done using a velocity selector, which is designed to allow ions of only a particular
velocity to pass through undeflected.
- The velocity selector uses both an electric field and a magnetic field.
- The electric field will exert a force on the charge F = qE.
- Magnetic field will exert a force F = Bqv
- If qE = Bqv, then speed of ion v = E / B.
- So, a charge of velocity, v = E / B , will experience no net force, and will pass through the
velocity selector undeflected.
- All these ions, with the same charge and velocity, enter the region with a uniform magnetic
field. Such a magnetic field causes the charges to follow circular paths of radius r = mv /
Bq.
- The only thing different for these particles is the mass, so the heavier ions travel in a
circular path of larger radius than the lighter ones.

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Electromagnetic Induction
- Electromagnetic Induction is the process of using magnetic fields to produce voltage across
a conductor or a current in a complete circuit.
Magnetic flux (Ф)
- Magnetic flux is the product of the average magnetic field and the perpendicular area that
it penetrates.
- Unit: Weber (Wb)

Φ = 𝐵𝐴 Φ = 𝐵𝐴 sin 𝜃

Faraday’s Law

The magnitude of induced emf in a conductor is directly proportional to the rate of change of
magnetic flux linkage
Δ𝜙
𝜀 = −𝑁
Δ𝑡

Δ(𝐵𝐴)
= −𝑁
Δ𝑡

Methods of Inducing current in a conductor

(A) When a permanent magnet is being moved in and out of a small

coil, an "induced" current flows in the coil. But it is only while the
magnetic field in the coil is changing that any induced current
flows. Current can be induced in the coil also by moving the coil,
keeping the magnet stationary.

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(B) Self-induction occurs when a circuit contains a coil.

When a circuit is completed through a coil (by closing a
switch), the increasing current in the coil gives rise to a
changing magnetic field which interacts with the coil itself,
setting up an electromotive force which opposes the original
current. A sensitive ammeter in series with such a coil might
show a momentary current in the direction opposite to the
B subsequent steady current. On breaking the circuit, a similar
induces current is produced.

(C) Mutual induction is exhibited when

Secondary coil
there is a magnetic linkage between two
ammeter
circuits. Closing the switch in the primary
circuit creates a magnetic field in the
secondary circuit, giving rise to a momentary
current in the secondary circuit. Opening the
switch in the primary causes an equivalent
current in the reverse direction in the
secondary
Lenz’s Law
Induced current in a conductor always opposes the change causing it.
- Lenz's law gives the direction of the induced emf.
- The negative sign in Faraday's law is due to Lenz's rule.

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A graph of coil EMF against time shows that:

- When the first pole (S) falls through the coil, EMF increases to a level, then decreases.
- When middle of the magnet falls through the coil, the EMF is at a minimum. No lines of
force are being cut by the coil.
- Maximum EMF was obtained when the second pole (N) falls through the coil. This is when
the rate of cutting lines of force is highest, because the magnet is falling faster
(accelerating).
- As a result of the velocity being greater the period of high EMF is shorter.
- Because the field direction is reversed when the poles drop through the coil, the induced
current direction is also reversed. So the EMF is reversed.

Motional emf
- Suppose a bar of length, L, is pulled to right at a speed, v, in a magnetic field, B, directed
into the page.
- The conducting rod itself completes a circuit across a set of parallel conducting rails with
a resistor mounted between them.

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- The direction of current induced in the conductor can be found using Fleming’s Right Hand
rule.

- The direction of induced current in a conductor is always from negative to positive

Applications of electromagnetic induction

Transformer

- When an input voltage is applied to the primary coil, alternating current starts to flow in
the primary coil.
- As the current flows, a changing magnetic flux is set up in the transformer core. As this
magnetic flux get linked with the secondary coil, alternating voltage is produced in the
secondary winding.
- A transformers output voltage is greater than the input voltage if the secondary winding
has more turns of wire than the primary winding. The output voltage is stepped up, and
considered to be a "step-up transformer".
- If the secondary winding has fewer turns than the primary winding, the output voltage is
lower. This is a "step-down transformer".

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Microphone

- Microphones contain a diaphragm that is fixed to a moving coil.

- The coil is positioned in a static magnetic field generated by a permanent magnet.
- As the sound waves hit the microphone, they set up vibrations in the diaphragm, which are
transferred to the coil.
- The movement of the coil in the magnetic field induces a voltage across the coil that is
proportional to the incident sound.
- Dynamic microphones do not need a power supply.

AC generator

- An electric generator consists of a rotating rectangular coil ABCD placed between the two
poles of a permanent magnet.
- The two ends of this coil are connected to the two rings R1 and R2.

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- The two conducting stationary brushes B1 and B2 are kept pressed separately on the rings
R1 and R2, respectively.
- The two rings R1 and R2 are internally attached to an axle. The axle may be mechanically
rotated from outside to rotate the coil inside the magnetic field.
- When the axle attached to the two rings is rotated such that the arm AB moves up (and the
arm CD moves down) in the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet. Due to
change in flux linkage, an induced current flows in the coil ABCD.
- If there are larger numbers of turns in the coil, the current generated in each turn adds up
to give a large current through the coil.
- After half a rotation, arm CD starts moving up and AB moving down. As a result, the
directions of the induced currents in both the arms change. Thus after every half rotation
the polarity of the current in the respective arms changes. Such a current, which changes
direction after equal intervals of time, is called an alternating current (AC).

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Nuclear and Particle Physics

PROBING MATTER

Rutherford’s Alpha particle Scattering Experiment

In the early part of the last century, the accepted model of the atom was proposed by J J Thompson
in his plum pudding model. This consisted of a matrix of protons in which were embedded
electrons. Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937) used alpha particles to study the nature of atomic
structure with the following apparatus:

- Rutherford was using alpha particles (helium nuclei) as nuclear bullets to smash up the
atoms; he wanted to see atoms bursting like watermelons. But… His observations are best
illustrated with the above diagram.
- Instead of bits of atom, Rutherford found that a small proportion of the alpha particles were
deflected, while an even smaller proportion bounced right back.
- He made the following conclusions from these observations.
Angle of Deflection/Degrees Evidence Conclusion
0-10 Most alpha particles pass Most of the atom is empty
straight through with little space
deviation
10-90 Some alpha particles deflected All the atom’s positive charge
through a large angle is concentrated in one place
90-180 A few alpha particles are Most of the mass, and all
repelled back towards the positive charge, is in a tiny,
source side of the foil central nucleus.

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PARTICLE ACCELERATORS AND DETECTORS

Linear Accelerators (LINAC)

- In LINAC, charged particles are accelerated by passing through a series of metal tubes
called drift tubes that are located in vacuum and connected successively to alternate
terminals of a high frequency AC supply.

- The alternating current is timed with a frequency such that the source particle is always
attracted to the next electrode and repelled from the previous one.
- The tubes are of increasing length so that the frequency at which the charge changes can
be constant despite the increased velocity of the particle as it makes its way down the
accelerator.
- Each time a particle leaves a tube it is accelerated by the electric field in the gap between
the tubes. Particles moves with constant speed in a straight line inside the tube as it is
equally attracted in all directions (Resultant field inside a tube is zero). In this way with a
long enough accelerator particles can approach the speed of light.
- The electrostatic force acting on particles in each gap is given by F = qE , Where q is
the charge of the particle and E is electric field strength in each gap.
- Hence the acceleration of a particle in each gap can be found using, F = ma
- Kinetic energy gained by the particles in each gap, ½ mv2 = qV Where V is the potential
difference in each gap.

Advantages
- Linacs of appropriate design are capable of accelerating heavy ions to energies exceeding
those available in ring-type (circular) accelerators, which are limited by the strength of the
magnetic fields required to maintain the ions on a curved path.

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- Linacs are also capable of producing a nearly continuous stream of particles, whereas a
cyclotron/synchrotron will only periodically raise the particles to sufficient energy.

Disadvantages
- The device length limits the locations where one may be placed.
- A great number of driver devices and their associated power supplies are required,
increasing the construction and maintenance expense.
- If the walls of the accelerating cavities are made of normally conducting material and the
accelerating fields are large, the wall resistivity converts electrical energy into heat quickly.

Cyclotron
A cyclotron consists of two D-shaped regions known
as dees. In each dee there is a magnetic field applied.
In the gap separating the dees there is a uniform
electric field pointing from one dee to the other.
When a charge is released from rest in the gap it is
accelerated by the electric field and carried into one
of the dees. The magnetic field in the dee causes the
charge to follow a half-circle that carries it back to
the gap.
While the charge is in the dee the electric field in the
gap is reversed, so the charge is once again
accelerated across the gap.
The cycle continues with the magnetic field in the dees continually bringing the charge back to the
gap. Every time the charge crosses the gap it picks up speed. This causes the half-circles in the
dees to increase in radius, and eventually the charge emerges from the cyclotron at high speed.

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Force on a charged particle in a magnetic field

We have seen how the force on a charged particles is given by:

𝐹 = 𝐵𝑞𝑣 sin 𝜃
where B - magnetic field strength , F - force , q - charge, v - velocity , θ - angle
with the magnetic field (usually 90°, so sin θ = 1).
The direction of the force is given by Fleming's Left Hand Rule. Since the force is always at 90°
to the direction of the velocity, the path is circular. Whether the circular path is clockwise or
anticlockwise depends on:
- The direction of the field
- The charge of the particles
We can derive an expression to give us the radius of the track:
𝑚𝑣 2
𝐵𝑞𝑣 =
𝑟
𝑚𝑣
𝐵𝑞 =
𝑟
𝑩𝒒𝒓
So, 𝒗= 𝒎

This shows that 𝑣 ∝ 𝑟. The equation for momentum is: 𝒑 = 𝑩𝒒𝒓

The greater the momentum, the greater the radius of the path.
Alternatively a bigger magnetic field is needed to keep it on a track of the same radiu

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Cyclotron frequency
The time taken by the particle to complete one circle is given by

𝐵𝑞
Or Frequency, 𝑓 = 2𝜋𝑚

- This shows that for a particle of constant mass, the frequency does not depend upon
the radius of the particle's orbit or its velocity.
- As the beam spirals out, its frequency does not decrease, and it must continue to accelerate,
as it is travelling more distance in the same time. As particles approach the speed of light,
they acquire additional mass, requiring modifications to the frequency, or the magnetic
field during the acceleration.
Advantages
- Cyclotrons require less space to install compared to LINAC.

- Cyclotrons have a single electrical driver, which saves both money and power.

- The compactness of the device reduces other costs, such as its foundations, radiation
shielding, and the enclosing building
Disadvantages
- As speeds get larger, the mass of the particles increases, spoiling the simple constant
frequency relationship.
- Maximum energy produced is less than that in LINAC.

Synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle
accelerator in which the magnetic field (to turn the particles
so they circulate) and the electric field (to accelerate the particles)
are carefully synchronized with the travelling particle beam so that
their track can be held constant.

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Colliding beams and fixed target accelerators

There are several different ways to design accelerators, each with its benefits and drawbacks.
Accelerators can be arranged to provide collisions of two types:
Fixed target: Shoot a particle at a fixed target.
- In a fixed-target experiment, a charged particle such as an electron or a proton is accelerated
by an electric field and collides with a target, which can be a solid, liquid, or gas.
- A detector determines the charge, momentum, mass, etc. of the resulting particles. In this
method the probability of collisions is very high.

Colliding beams: Two beams of particles are made to cross each other.
- In a colliding-beam experiment two beams of high-energy particles are made to cross each
other.
- The advantage of this arrangement is that both beams have significant kinetic energy
(energy of speed), so a collision between them is more likely to produce a higher mass
particle than would a fixed-target collision at the same energy.
- Since we are dealing with particles with a lot of momentum, these particles have short
wavelengths and make excellent probes (diffracts through other particles).

PARTICLE DETECTORS
The Bubble Chamber
- This consists of a chamber containing liquid hydrogen.
- The pressure is so low that the hydrogen is almost on the point of vaporizing.
- When an ionizing radiation enters the chamber it causes the hydrogen to ionize, which
triggers vaporization and a trail of bubbles shows the track of the particle.
The Cloud Chamber
- The Cloud Chamber is a chamber containing a pad soaked in a volatile liquid such as
ethanol.
- An electric field is maintained between the source of particles and the sides of the chamber.
- As particles enter the chamber, the pressure is reduced so that the ethanol condenses onto
the trail of ions of the gases in the air, left by the ionizing radiation.

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- The paths followed by subatomic particles in different situations can provide information
about the particles.
- These include: • charge • momentum • energy • ionising properties
- These paths can also provide evidence of particle annihilation and creation, and of particle
decay.
Role of magnetic field
- Often a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the base of the detector. Any charged
particle travelling across the chamber will be deflected in a curved path.
- Charge can be determined as positive or negative by the direction of the deflection.
According to Fleming’s Left Hand Rule, the force acting on opposite charges will be in
opposite directions.
- Momentum From circular motion theory:
Bqv = mv2 / r
p = mv = Bqr where p is momentum
As most particles have charge +e or –e, the momentum of the particle can be found
by measuring the radius of the track. (However charged particles never travel in a
circle in a cloud or bubble chamber. They slow down (lose energy) as they travel
through the medium. This loss of speed causes the particle to spiral inwards.)

Examples of particle tracks observed in a detector

(a) Electrons and positrons curve in opposite directions in the magnetic field.
(b) An electron loses energy by ionization, and it spirals inwards in the applied field.
(c) A particle coming to rest leaves a dense track near the end, as its ionising power increases (gets
more time to ionize).
(d) A charged particle has emitted a neutral particle (unseen) and changed direction (conservation
of momentum)

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Measurements in Particle Physics

- Joules and kilograms in this context are rather clumsy to work with. So we use electron-
volts (eV). They are a unit of energy, not voltage.
energy (J) = charge (C) × voltage (V)
- The electron-volt is the energy gained by unit charge accelerated through a potential
difference of 1 volt.
1 eV = 1.6 × 10-19 J
- Many accelerators can accelerate particles to energies of giga electron-volts (GeV) (109
eV) or even tera-electron-volt (TeV) (1012 eV).
- The units in particle physics are often expressed in units that are based on the rest mass of
the particle. If we were able to convert all an electron's mass into energy according to E =
mc2, we would get:
E0 = 9.11 × 10-31 kg × (3.0 × 108 m s-1)2 = 8.20 × 10-14 J = 5.12 × 105 eV
This is 0.512 MeV. Since E = mc2,
m = E/c2
So we can say that the rest mass of the particle is 0.512 MeV/c2. Heavier particles
has rest masses of GeV/c2.
(1 MeV/c2 = 1.79 x 10-30 Kg)

Atomic Mass Unit (u)

- The unified atomic mass unit (symbol: u) is a unit that is used for indicating mass on an
atomic or molecular scale.
- It is defined as one twelfth of the rest mass of a neutral atom of carbon-12.
1u = 1.66×10−27 kg

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THE PARTICLE ZOO

Standard Model of Particle Physics

The Standard Model of Particle

Physics identifies 12 fundamental
particles from which all matter is
made.

There are two main groups:

• Quarks which make up the
nucleons;
• Leptons (from the Greek "light-
weight"), of which the most common
is the electron

QUARKS
- The direct evidence for the existence of quarks inside the proton is provided by deep
inelastic scattering.
- The idea is to accelerate electrons to very high energies, then allow them to interact with a
stationary proton, and investigate what happens.
- At high energies, the wavelengths associated with the electrons are much smaller than the
size of a proton. Hence the electrons can probe distances that are small compared with the
proton - that is, DEEP within the proton. However, the high energies tend to disrupt the
proton, so that it produces several new particles. This means the scattering is INELASTIC
because the target has been changed in the process.
- Quarks are the fundamental particles from which hadrons are made. They cannot exist on
their own. In baryons they are found as triplets. In mesons, they are always in a quark-
antiquark pair.
- There are three main quarks, up, down, and strange. The names have no real significance
beyond the imagination of the physicist that dubbed them such. They have corresponding

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antiquarks. There are three others with even odder names, top (sometimes called "truth"),
bottom ("beauty"[!]), and charm, which we won’t worry about here.

Quarks have the following properties

• Charge, expressed as the fraction of the electronic charge. 1/3 e = 5.33 X 10-20 C
• Baryon number

• Strangeness number, when there are strange quarks (A strange quark will have strangeness -1 .
An anti-strange quark will have strangeness +1).
Each antiquark has equal and opposite values of charge, baryon number and strangeness.
• Baryons are made of three quarks; antibaryons of three antiquarks.
• Mesons are made up of one quark and one antiquark.

Classification of Particles

Baryons Examples:
(3 Quarks) protons, neutrons
Hadrons
Mesons Examples:
Particles (Quark+Antiquark) pions, kaons
Electrons, muons,
Leptons taus + their nutrinos
+ antiparticles

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Leptons

Leptons (Greek – “light thing” or “small coins”) are the smallest of the fundamental particles.
They have the following properties
• fundamental particles without structure
• charge and lepton number are conserved in all allowed lepton interactions.

Each particle has an antiparticle; for the electron, it is the positron, the muon the antimuon, and
the tau, the antitau.

Hadrons
There are a very large number of particles that are classified as hadrons, which are subdivided into
two further classifications, the mesons, and the baryons.
• They are not fundamental particles and have a structure.

• They have an associated value of charge, Q and baryon number B.

• Hadrons with zero baryon number are called mesons; those with baryon number of 1 are called
baryons.

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Mesons
They are made up of two quarks. (one quark Name Symbol Quark Charge
and an antiquark). of Content (e)
Particle
Kaon 𝐾− -1

Kaon 𝐾+ +1

Kaon 𝐾0 0

Phi Φ 0

Pi 𝜋− -1

Pi 𝜋+ +1

Pi 𝜋0 0

Baryons
They are made up of three quarks or three antiquarks
They have charge and baryon number, which must be conserved in interactions

Proton Anti-Proton

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PARTICLE INTERACTIONS
We live in a Universe composed of matter particles (e.g. the neutron, proton and electron etc.)
However, antimatter particles are routinely created in particle accelerators.
All particles have antimatter counterparts. Anti-particles resemble their corresponding particles in
every way except for the sign of their charge. When an anti-particle meets its corresponding
particle the two annihilate each other converting their mass to pure energy.

Pair production and annihilation

When a particle and its corresponding antiparticle meet they annihilate one another. These
annihilations do not occur in a purely random way however; they must obey 3 rules: the
conservation of charge, the conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy.

consider the annihilation of an electron e- and its antiparticle the positron e+.

The combined mass is converted into pure energy in the form of photons. (2 gamma-ray photons
are necessary to conserve momentum) and charge. Since the charges cancel at the beginning
before the collision there is no net charge at the end either.

The reverse process is called pair production. Of course the possibility of two photons of the right
energy meeting to produce an electron/positron pair is negligible. However, a single gamma-ray
photon can spontaneously produce such a pair as it passes close to a nucleus, which recoils thus
conserving energy and momentum.

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The only requirement is that the gamma-ray photon carries an energy equivalent to the combined
rest masses of the electron and positron. If the incident photon has more energy than this then the
excess appears as kinetic energy of the electron/positron pair.

CONSERVATION LAWS
Particles can only interact if the following conditions are met:
• Total charge is conserved.
• Total momentum is conserved.
• Total mass-energy is conserved.
• Baryon number is conserved.
• Lepton number is conserved.

For example, consider this interaction:

p + π- → n + π0
Charge:
+1 + -1 = 0 + 0
Charge is conserved.
Baryon number (if it's a baryon, its baryon number is 1):
+1 + 0 = 1 + 0
Baryon number is conserved.
The lepton number is 0 for all the particles, since none of them are leptons. Since all these are
conserved, the interaction will go ahead.

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Important Definitions, Formulae and Exam Tips

Momentum (Vector): The product of mass and velocity.

Conservation of linear momentum: The total momentum before collision is equal to the total
momentum after collision, provided that there is no external force acting on it.

Newton’s second law of motion states that the rate of change in momentum is directly
proportional to the resultant applied force.

Impulse (I): Change in momentum (mv-mu)

In elastic collision, all of the kinetic energy in the system is conserved.

In inelastic collisions, some or all of the KE is transferred to other forms of energy.

Elastic Collision Inelastic Collision

Total energy is conserved Total energy is conserved
KE is conserved KE is NOT conserved
Momentum is conserved Momentum is conserved

- It is useful to sketch a simple diagram showing the masses and velocities of the bodies
before before and after the interaction.
- Remember that momentum is a vector. If you assign positive values positive values to left-
to-right motion, the velocities and momentum in the right-to-left direction must be
negative.
- Many students lose marks in exams by stating that energy is ‘lost’. Although the KE of a
car becomes zero when it brakes to a halt, the energy has been transferred to other forms
(mostly internal energy in the discs and surroundings).

Angular displacement: Angular displacement of a body is the angle in radians through which a
point revolves around a centre.

Angular speed (ω): The angular speed is the change of angular displacement with respect to time.

∆𝜃 ∆𝑠/∆𝑡 𝑣
ω= = =
∆𝑡 𝑟 𝑟

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Radian: Measure of angular displacement.

𝑎𝑟𝑐 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ ∆𝑠
𝜃= =
𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑟

2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 = 360°

Period: The time taken for one complete rotation.

Frequency: The number of rotations in one second.

Critical speed: It is the speed at which a body in circular motion just loses its contact with the
surface and enters to the state of free fall.

- An object moving in a circle, or part of a circle, is accelerating towards the centre. The
velocity is a vector and as its direction is continuously changing towards the centre of the
circle, it must accelerate in that direction.

Electric field: An electric field is a region in which a charged object will experience a force.

Coulomb’s law: Coulomb’s law states that the force between point charges is directly proportional
to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of their separation.

- In exams many students lose marks by drawing sloppy freehand diagrams. Always use a
ruler to draw the field lines, ensure that radial lines are at the same angular separation,
uniform field lines are equally spaced and arrows are included to show the direction of the
field.
- Between the parallel plates the field strength is the same at all points and the force on a
charged particle is the same wherever it is in the field. It is a common error for candidates
to state that the force on a positive charge increases when it approaches the negative plate.

Capacitance: The capacitance of a capacitor is the ratio of the charge stored to the p.d. applied
across its plates.

Energy stored by capacitor:

1 1 𝑄2
𝑊 = 2 𝐶𝑉 2 𝑊=2 𝐶

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Time constant: The time taken for the initial voltage/charge in a capacitor to reduce by 63%.

- Most capacitors are only able to store small charges. Capacitance values in the order of nF
(10-9 F) or pF (10-12F) are common in electronic circuits.
- The area under any voltage-charge graph represents the energy stored on the capacitor.
- The time constant for a capacitor charging or discharging through a resistor is the product
RC.

Magnetic field: A magnetic field is a region where a force is exerted on a moving charge Or on a
current-carrying conductor.
Magnetic flux:𝜙 = 𝐵𝐴

Magnetic flux linkage: 𝑁𝜙 = 𝑁𝐵𝐴

Magnetic field strength: B

FLHR: Used to find the direction of force or field when there is a charged particle moving in a
magnetic field.

FRHR: Used to find the direction of induced current.

Faraday’s law: The induced e.m.f. in a conductor is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic
flux linkage. ε = (−)d(NΦ) /dt
Lenz’s law: The induced e.m.f. is in such a way that it opposes the change causing it.

- Moving charges experience a force at right angles to a magnetic field, but in an electric
field the force is always in the direction of the field.
- For a flow of negatively charged electrons, the conventional current is in the opposite
direction to the motion of the electrons.

Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom.

Mass number: The number of necleons in an atom (sum of protons and neutrons).

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Alpha Scattering experiment

Observations Deductions/Results
Most of the alpha particles pass straight through Most of the atom is empty space
undeviated
Few alpha particles were scattered by small angles There is a concentration of charge in the atom
Very few alpha particles were deviated by more than Most of the mass is concentrated in a small region of
90. the atom / Most of the mass is concentrated in nucleus.
Fundamental particle: A particle which does not have an internal structure / A particle which is
not made of any other small particles.

Baryons: A particle which is made of 3 quarks or 3 antiquarks.

Mesons: A particle which is made of a quark and an anti-quark.

- The drift tubes are conductors. At any instant all parts of the tube will have the same p.d.
and so a charged particle within the tube will not experience a force and will continue to
move with constant velocity.
- Many students lose marks by failing to include the high-voltage, high frequency alternating
p.d. as essential features of a cyclotron.
- Particle accelerators are needed to provide sufficient energy for particles to overcome
electric fields in order to collide with other particles, and to enable the creation of new
particles.
- Uncharged particles, photons and neutrinos produce little or no ionization.
- It is insufficient to state that the charge is the same before and after an interaction. To show
that charge is conserved, the magnitude and nature of the charges for each particle should
be given.
- If a single track in a bubble chamber is seen to change direction suddenly, with no other
trail observed, it is likely that an uncharged particle or neutrino has been produced. Since
momentum is a vector quantity, a change in direction represents a change in momentum
and so the uncharged (unobserved) particle must travel in a different direction so that
momentum is conserved.

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- The mass of moving particles can be taken as being the same as their rest mass unless the
speed is close to the speed of light.
- Two photons must be created by particle-antiparticle annihilation in order to conserve
momentum.

• Explain why an alternating potential difference of constant frequency is applied to the dees.
- Time spent in each dee is constant
- For acceleration, magnitude of V must be maximum each time proton arrives at gap
- P.d. must reverse polarity while proton is in dee.

• In a cyclotron, high-energy protons are directed towards a stationary target. In the Large
Hadron Collider, beams of high-energy protons circulating in opposite directions cross, so that
protons moving in opposite directions collide. For the same initial total energy, the colliding
proton beams allow the creation of particles of greater mass than the use of a stationary target.
Explain why, using the principle of conservation of momentum.
- With a stationary target, there is initial momentum whereas with colliding beams, the total
initial momentum is zero.
- So, for the cyclotron, the particles must have movement/KE after collision.
- So, less energy is given to creation of particles in a cyclotron whereas in LHC, all the
energy goes to creation of the particles as the particles do not have to have any KE after
collision.
- According to conservation of mass-energy, there would be less mass in the particle
produced by a cyclotron.

• Explain how the cyclotron accelerates the protons in a circular path

- Protons are accelerated by electric field between the dees / Protons are accelerated by
potential difference across the gap
- The magnetic field is perpendicular to proton motion
- This causes a centripetal acceleration/force for a circular path

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- The p.d./field/polarity (across the gap between the dees) has reversed when the proton
reaches the gap again OR The p.d./field/polarity (across the gap between the dees) reverses
while the proton is in the dee.
- (Each successive half-circle) path of the proton has a larger radius with greater
speed/momentum/energy

• The following conclusions about atoms were made after the experiments.
1. The atom is mostly empty space.
2. The atom contains a small region of highly concentrated charge.
3. Most of the mass of the atom is concentrated in a very small space relative to the size of the
atom.
Explain how the observations from the experiments led to these conclusions.

- Conclusion 1: Observation - most of the alpha particles were undeflected / most of the
alphas went straight through
from this they could conclude – that most did not get near enough to any matter to be
affected
- Conclusion 2: Observation - a few particles were deflected (by small angles)
from this they could conclude – only a few particles came close enough to charge to be
affected
- Conclusion 3: Observation - a very small proportion of alpha particles were deflected
through more than 90°
from this they could conclude that the nucleus must have mass much greater than the alpha
particle mass in order to cause this deflection

• The experiment at CERN involved colliding protons. Explain why very high energies were
required for the experiment.
- High energies are needed for particle creation
- Mass-energy needs to be conserved

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- (High energy required) to create particles with large/larger mass because ΔE = c2 Δm and
c2 is a large multiplying factor
- Overcoming repulsive forces: There are (electrostatic) repulsive forces between protons
(and high energies are required) so repulsive force can be overcome to allow protons to get
close to each other

• Explain why a banked track is an advantage to cyclists.

- The horizontal component of reaction force acts towards centre of rotation Or The
horizontal component of R provides/contributes to the centripetal force
- The cyclist can go faster

• Electron diffraction is used to investigate the structure of nucleons. Explain why the electrons
used require very high energies.
- High energy electrons will have large momentum
- λ = h/p, so have small wavelength (if momentum large) Or According to de Broglie large
momentum corresponds to small wavelengths
- so wavelengths have approximately the same size as nucleons Or small wavelength needed
to resolve fine detail

• For the experiment below, explain the shape of the graph.

- The magnet produces a magnetic field.

- As the magnet moves down the coil, the coil cuts the magnetic field lines.

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- Since there is a changing magnetic flux linkage, an emf is induced in the coils (ε =
Δ(𝑁𝛷) /Δ𝑡).
- The magnet accelerates downwards (𝑎 = 9.81𝑚𝑠-2), therefore it leaves the coil faster than
it enters the coil. Hence, the emf induced as it leaves the coil is greater than when it enters
the coil.
- According to Lenz’s law, the emf opposes the change causing it. Therefore, a North is
induced at the top of the coil as the magnet enters it and hence the emf is in one direction
and as it passes the centre the emf induced is in the opposite direction. Hence the gradient
of the graph is initially negative and then becomes positive.
- When the magnet is in the centre of the coil, the rate of change of magnetic flux linkage is
constant, hence the emf is zero.

• In the LHC, a magnetic field allows charged particles to move at a constant speed in a
horizontal circular path of the required radius. By reference to the force acting on the charged
particles, explain how this is achieved.
- Magnetic field/force is perpendicular to path/motion of charged particles.
- Magnetic force / acceleration is towards the centre of circle Or magnetic force acts as
centripetal force
- Since r = p/BQ, the particles move in a circular path of constant radius r.

• Explain how the linac produces a beam of high speed particles, making reference to the
alternating supply and the lengths of the tubes.
- The particles accelerate when in the gaps Or particles gain energy when in the gaps
- p.d. / polarity / supply reverses while particles are in the tube
- p.d./ polarity / supply switches at constant time interval Or p.d./supply has a constant
frequency
- (Drift) tubes get longer so particles are in tubes for the same time

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• With reference to the magnetic field and the alternating potential difference explain how the
cyclotron produces a beam of high speed particles.
- Electric field/ p.d. accelerates particles Or Electric field /p.d. gives particles energy
- Constant time period Or constant frequency
- Polarity of dees switches every half cycle Or P.d. switches every half cycle
- Magnetic field/force at right angles to particles path
- Maintains circular motion (whilst in dees) Or Experiences centripetal force/acceleration
(whilst in dees)
- Radius of circle increases as particles get faster

• Explain why roads designed for high-speed travel, such as motorways, do not have any sharp
bends.
- Higher speed means larger force Or smaller radius means larger force
- (For sharp bends) centripetal/resultant/required force would need to be greater than
maximum frictional force Or (for sharp bends) friction cannot provide the (required)
centripetal/resultant force

• A bubble chamber is a particle detector which makes use of electric and magnetic fields.
Explain the role of electric and magnetic fields in a particle detector.
Electric fields
- can be used to accelerate/deflect particles
- direction of force/deflection indicates (sign of) charge.
- a = EQ/m
Magnetic fields
- produce circular motion Or provides a centripetal force Or causes spirals/arc
- Direction of force/curvature/deflection indicates (sign of) charge.
- momentum/speed/mass found from radius/curvature
- r = p/BQ Or Bqv = mv2/r

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• Explain what is meant by a uniform electric field.

- Space/area/region where a force acts on a charged particle
- The force is the same at all points Or Field strength is constant Or Field lines equispaced

• Describe how a uniform electric field can be demonstrated in a laboratory.

- Two parallel plates (accept wires for plates)
- Connected to a potential difference Or potential difference is applied
- Practical method to show force (eg: seeds in tray of glycerol, Charged foil on end of rule,
Charged pith ball on thread, Beam of electrons (in teltron tube), Charged oil drops).

• Why do the tubes of a linac become progressively longer down its length?
- to keep the time spent in each tube the same
- so that frequency of alternating pd/voltage is constant

• State the main features of linac

- Drift tubes
- Alternating p.d. / a.c. p.d. /alternating electric field
- Length of tubes increases

• Explain the purpose of magnetic field in a cyclotron.

- Force on charged particles is at right angles to motion
- Causes circular motion [not spiral / curved] OR force/acceleration is centripetal

• An alternating p.d. is used in cyclotrons beacause:

- (Protons) accelerated / given energy,in the gaps / between D’s/from one D to the other
- Every half rotation/semicircle later (polarity of D’s) needs a change

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• Important derivations:
𝑝2
✓ 𝐾𝐸 = 2𝑚
𝑣2
✓ 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃 = 𝑟𝑔
𝑚𝑣 𝑝
✓ 𝑟= 𝑜𝑟 𝑟 = 𝐵𝑄
𝐵𝑄

ℎ2
✓ 𝜆 = √𝐾𝐸2𝑚
𝐵𝑄 𝐵𝑄
✓ 𝑚 = 2𝜋𝑓 𝑜𝑟 𝑓 = 2𝜋𝑚

• How to convert 𝑀𝑒𝑉/𝐶 2 to Kg

Eg: 969 𝑀𝑒𝑉/𝐶 2

969 × 106 × 1.6 × 10−19

=
(3 × 108 )2

= 1.7 × 10−27 𝐾𝑔

• MeV/c2, u and Kg are units of mass

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