???The Mass Spectrometer


????The charge accelerator (sometimes known as an 'electron gun') used in

????this simulation has been greatly simplified. It accelerates charged objects

????by exerting an electric force upon them. The output of a real accelerator might

????consist of thousands of objects of unknown mass, charge and velocity...

????the output of this simulated accelerator is just one object, where you,

????unlike the pioneers, know it's charge and mass. The energy lost by the

????electric field becomes the kinetic energy of the charge.


????The velocity selector (also known as a Wien filter) was developed

????by Wilhelm Wien in 1898. It contains an electric field crossed with

????a magnetic field in such a way that the only objects that can make

????it through the filter in a straight line are ones that are charged,

????and have a zero net force exerted on them (...the electric force is

????equal and opposite to the magnetic force), regardless of the value of

????the object's mass or the value of the object's charge. This occurs

????when the velocity of the charged object is equal to E/B. Charged objects

????that have a velocity that isn't equal to E/B have a curved path as they pass

????through the filter.


????Any charged object that passes through the hole in the right hand barrier

????has successfully made it though the filter in a straight line, thus the

????velocity of the charged object can be confirmed.

????It now passes into a magnetic field, where the radius of the charged object's

????object's path can be detected (a charged object will 'expose' photographic paper if

????it hits the paper hard enough. The distance from the hole to the mark on the

????paper can be measured; this distance is the diameter of the circlular path

????of the charged object).


????Knowing the the radius of this path, the speed of the charged object, and the

????strength of the magnetic field, the 'charge to mass ratio', q/m, can be

????found. This was, and is, an important calculation, as it led to to the

????discovery of the charge and mass of the electron, which has had an

????enormous impact on our lives. Which sounds difficult to believe, but

????it's true :-).










For charge accelerator

???K = mv ? / 2

???W = VABq


For velocity selector

???FE = -VAB / d

???FB = Bqv

????F = (FE? + FB?)?

????F = ma

????x = vi?t + ?a?t ?

???circumference = 2? r

???angle in radians = arc/radius

???sin ? = opposite / hypotenuse

???cos ? = adjacent / hypotenuse

???tan ? = opposite / adjacent


???The shape of a charged object's path in the selector:

????????In E-field only: parabola.

????????In B-field only: circular.

????????In crossed E and B fields: cycloid.

????????Net force is zero: straight.




For magnetic field

???FB = Bqv

????F on a mass moving in a circle = mv ?/r


Close



copyright ? Martin Kirby 2024 ???????Q? A? waveaddapp@gmail.com

For the full screen simulation,

download this sim from kirbyx.com




???K : kinetic energy of mass (joules) (J)

???W : work done on charge by electric field (joules) (J)

???m : mass of object (kilogram) (kg)

???v : velocity of mass (meters/second) (m/s)

???E : Electric field strength (volts/meter or newtons/coulomb) (V/m or N/C)

???B : Magnetic field strength (tesla) (T)

???VAB : voltage (a.k.a. electric potential difference) (volts) (V)

???VA : electric potential at A (volts) (V)

???VB : electric potential at B (volts) (V)

???q : charge (coulombs) (C)

???FE : electric force on charge (newtons) (N)

???FB : magnetic force on charge (newtons) (N)

????F : total force on charge (newtons) (N)

???a : acceleration of mass (meters/second?) (m/s?)

???r : radius (meters) (m)

????x : change in position (meters) (m)

???vi : initial velocity (meters/second) (m/s)

????t : change in time (seconds) (s)



????? To be calculator and student friendly, the range of values

??????chosen for this simulation have no exponents, unlike many

??????of the real-world values that are used for a real

??????mass spectrometer.

????? For this simulation, there are no gravitational forces.

????? In this simulation, a charged object will only pass through

??????the hole in the barrier if its path has been a continuous

??????straight line from the accelerator to the barrier.

????? There is no motion in the z direction.

????? Assume that there are no edge effects.

????? This simulation is not to scale.

Reset Replay Slow Start Pause

charge accelerator

gun electric field

gun voltage

gun separation

gun length

exit velocity

selector electric field

selector voltage

selector separation


selector length


selector magnetic field

b2 value

charge

mass


Mass Spectrometer Parameters

velocity selector

velocity selector removed

magnetic field

magnetic field removed

charge and mass

charge accelerator








velocity selector











magnetic field






charge and mass




information