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Contents
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
electron emitter
Pre-heater p
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
(Adapted from materials created by the WASC project: http://rwsl.nic.bc.ca/)
Many of the equations that we use when using physic to study the natural world rely on
universal or physical constants. Many of these physical constants can be used to
identify specific atomic and subatomic particles. For instance the charge to mass ratio
of an electron is unique to only the electron. In fact the electron was the first atomic
practical identified In 1897 J.J. Thomson for which he won the Nobel prize. In this lab
you will be replicating his famous experiment. In this experiment, we will use a gas
discharge tube and a pair of Helmholtz coils, as illustrated in Figure 1, to examine the
motion of electrons in a magnetic field. The Helmholtz coils produce a nearly uniform
magnetic field over the entire gas discharge tube. The gas discharge tube produces a
stream of electrons that travel through a diffuse helium gas inside the tube. When
excited by collisions with electrons, the helium gas in the discharge tube emits light so
we can see the path of the electrons.
The electron path can be used to determine the charge to mass (e/m) ratio of the
electron. Simply when a beam of electrons is travels through a constant magnetic field
in a perpendicular direction its orbit will be circular. The reason for this circular orbit is
the magnetic field imparting a force on the moving object. This is simply another
application of Newtons laws of motion. Using this information we can derive equations
that allow us to calculate the e/m ratio of an electron. Specifically, when a charged
Figure 1 - Helmholtz Coils with Gas Discharge Tube showing Electron Path
r
r
particle, of charge q, mass m and velocity v , enters a uniform magnetic field B , a force
r
FB
on the charged particle is created by the magnetic field interacting with the moving
electron (Figure 2). This force is given by
r
r r
FB qv B
(1)
The force direction is perpendicular to both the charged particle velocity and the
magnetic field.
(2)
(3)
The sign of the force is ignored here because we are only interested in the magnitude.
We will assume that all other forces on the electron are negligible. An object under a
net force that is perpendicular to its velocity will undergo circular motion with centripetal
acceleration
ac
v2
r
(4)
(5)
In this experiment, electrons pass through two parallel plates as they enter the gas
discharge tube. The potential difference between the plates is V. Assuming kinetic
energy of electrons before entering the plates is negligible, the kinetic energy of the
electrons after passing through the plates is
K eV
(6)
or
1
2
mv 2 eV
(7)
erB
m
(8)
and substitute this into the kinetic energy equation (7) to get
2
1
2
erB
m
eV
m
(9)
6
(10)
This shows that we can measure the ratio of the electron charge to the electron mass if
we know the potential difference used to accelerate the electrons, the magnetic field
strength, and the radius of the circular motion of the electron.
Depending on the magnetic field strength B and the accelerating potential V, the
electrons can travel anywhere within the discharge tube. The Helmholtz coils produce a
magnetic field that is constant to within 1%, and in the direction of the line joining the
centers of the two coils, over the entire discharge tube. According to the manufacturer
of the Helmholtz coil device we are using (NADA scientific), the magnitude of the
Helmholtz coil magnetic field within the discharge tube is
B=( 0.7155 0.0001)
( 104 )( R )
7
(11)
where I is the coil current, N is the number of coils, and R is the radius of the coils, both
of which are constants.
Now, we can combine equations 10 and 11 to get an equation that we can collect data
to satisfy in the experiment were about to do:
e
2V
= 2 2 2
(12)
m r C I
Where C is the combination of all the constants from equation (11).
References
1. Laboratory Manual for Principles of Physics I and II, 5 th Edition 2004, prepared by
Jason Diemer, North Island College.
2. Nakamura e/m Apparatus Manual. NADA Scientific, N99-B10-7350
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE:
Read and understand these instructions BEFORE starting the actual lab
procedure and collecting data. Feel free to play around a little bit and
explore the capabilities of the equipment before you start the actual
procedure. If you want to see the Helmholtz coils and discharge bulb, ask
the Lab Technicians to remove the cover for you before you start the
6. Once you establish a ring of electrons in the discharge tube, you will
use the scale on the control panel to measure the diameter of the
electron ring.
a. Measure the outside edge of the glowing plasma ring produced
by the electrons.
b. There is a glass rod inside the discharge bulb with a cm scale on
it, but it is difficult to see, so use the scale with moveable slider
that is on the control panel.
c. Use a square piece of paper or something similar to line up with
the top edge of the control panel on your computer screen and
the outside edge of the left side of the plasma ring.
PRE-LAB EXERCISE
1. The accepted value of the charge/mass ratio of an electron is
1.758820088 x 1011 Coulomb/kg (National Institute of Standards and
Technology: http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/cuu/Value?esme). How close
do you think your result from this experiment will be to that value?
2. What are the sources of uncertainty (error) in this experiment? How
will they impact your result?
3. Here are values you will need for your calculations. Calculate the value
of C from equation (12), and estimate the total uncertainty contributed
by these values:
a. N: 130 turns of wire
b. R: 0.0150 +/- 0.0005 meters
4. Electrons are sub-microscopic, so how are you able to see them in this
experiment?
1
r2
1
as the dependent variable that depends on the independent variable I2.
2
r
For each of your accelerating potential values use a spreadsheet application
1
to create a graph of the date, plot
on the vertical axis versus I2 on the
2
r
horizontal axis. Use your spreadsheet application to calculate a best fit line
(insert a Trendline in Excel) for each set of data.
1
15.
If
is the y-variable, and I2 is the x-variable, what is the
r2
resulting expression for the slope of the best fit line?
16.
How are the slopes of the best fit lines related to the ratio of
e/m?
17.
For the 4 accelerating potential data sets you collected in
exercise 2 :
a. Solve for e/m using equation (12) and the values for each data
point
b. Average the value of e/m from all 6 data points at each
accelerating potential.
c. Calculate e/m from the slope of the best fit line of those 6 data
points.
d. Do this for all the data sets that you have collected. You will end
up with at least 4 averages and 4 slopes.
e. Compare the values from d to the accepted value of e/m. Which
value is closest to the accepted value? Does this make sense?
Explain.
f. Which accelerating voltage potential setting produced the most
accurate value of e/m? Does this make sense based on the
background material? Explain.
10
11
On the left side of the panel are the controls for the power supplies, and on
the right side are the camera controls.
At the bottom of the screen are instructions for joining the voice conference
that will allow you to talk with any other students who are doing the same
experiment and also to the Lab Technicians who are there in the lab to assist
you.
12
When you click on the DC Power Out button for the Pre-Heater Power Supply, you will
see the message shown in the above screenshot and a blue progress bar will move
from left to right.
When the electrode is ready, the message will disappear and the DC Power Out button
for the Accelerating Voltage Power Supply will appear. It is now safe to turn on the
accelerating voltage (Figure 5).
13
Click the DC Power Out buttons for both the Coil power supply and the Accelerating
Voltage. Use the dials to set the current and voltage, use the up down arrows, or just
type directly into the number boxes.
14
15
Came
ra 2
Hovering over the Preset buttons will cause a text box to pop up that tells you what
each button will show you.
This activity has two cameras connected to it. You can see Camera 2 at the right side
of the screen. It is the one you will use to view the electron beam inside the discharge
tube.
16
Coils and
discharge
tube are in
here.
Tube for
Camera 2
When you send amperage to the Helmholtz coils and voltage to the electron emitter
inside the discharge tube, you will form a ring of electrons. Switch to Camera 2 to view
this (Figure 9).
17
Click here
for Preset
2
Notice that the electron ring looks far away. To get a close-up view and make
measurements, select Preset 2. See the next figure for the close-up view.
18
Measurement
Scale with
moveable
slider
Do NOT change the position of the camera with any of the camera controls while you
are making measurements. Preset 2 is set exactly so that the scale at the bottom of the
video window is set correctly.
To make a measurement, place a piece of paper or something similar against the
screen and line it up with the outside of the electron beam. Move the slider over to
where it meets the edge of the paper, and that will be the diameter of the beam.
See the next figure for an approximation of this.
19
Slider
moved to
the edge
of the
paper
Diameter
of the
electron
beam
20