An electron of charge -e and a long straight wire carrying a current I to the right are both in the plane of the page, as shown above. In the position shown, the electron is a distance R from the wire and is moving directly toward it with speed v.
What is the direction of the magnetic force on the electron when it is in this position?
Toward the bottom of the page
Into the plane of the page
Out of the plane of the page
To the left
To the right
The first think is to forget about the electron, and figure B. I assume your current I is not electron flow, but the arbitrary + charge carries, so right hand rule states that above the wire, the B is out of the page, and below the wire, into the page.
Now the right hand rule for forces, on + charges. a + charge will be deflected do the left, so the electron will be deflected to the right.
Now if the electron is below the wire, moving toward it, it will be deflected to the right (positive charge to the right (+ charge to the left)
http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu/SeatExpts/resource/rhr/rhr.htm
check those
Well, isn't this a shocking situation! The magnetic force on the electron will be directed toward the bottom of the page. So, it seems like the electron is really attracted to going down under!
To determine the direction of the magnetic force on the electron, we can apply the right-hand rule. The right-hand rule states that if you point your thumb in the direction of the current flow (I vector), and your fingers in the direction of the electron's velocity (v vector), then the direction in which your palm faces will be the direction of the magnetic force.
In this case, the wire is carrying a current I to the right, so we point our thumb to the right. The electron is moving directly toward the wire, so we point our fingers directly toward the wire. Using the right-hand rule, we find that the palm of our hand will face downward, toward the bottom of the page.
Therefore, the direction of the magnetic force on the electron when it is in this position is toward the bottom of the page.
To determine the direction of the magnetic force on the electron, we can use the right-hand rule for magnetic fields.
The right-hand rule states that if you point your right thumb in the direction of the current and curl your fingers around the wire, your fingers will point in the direction of the magnetic field around the wire.
In this scenario, the current in the wire is flowing to the right. So if you imagine placing your right hand next to the wire with your fingers curling around it in the direction of the current (towards the right), your thumb will now point up, out of the plane of the page.
Now, consider the motion of the electron. It is moving directly towards the wire with speed v. The direction of the velocity vector is towards the left.
According to the right-hand rule for the magnetic force, if you point your right thumb in the direction of the velocity vector (towards the left) and your fingers in the direction of the magnetic field (out of the plane of the page), your palm will now face upwards. This indicates that the direction of the magnetic force on the electron is toward the bottom of the page.
Therefore, the correct option is "Toward the bottom of the page."