Article
Article
Electron motion in vacuum
Article By:
Ramberg, Edward G. RCA Laboratories, Princeton, New Jersey.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.224500
Motion of electrons in a space freed sufficiently from matter so that collisions with other particles play a negligible role. The motion of electrons in vacuum is controlled by electric and magnetic fields whose force on the electrons is proportional to their magnitude. Electric and magnetic fields may arise from the presence of electrodes, currents, and magnets surrounding the evacuated space in which a particular electron moves, as well as from the presence of other charged particles within this space. This article deals with the nonrelativistic motion of electrons in static electric and magnetic fields, the effect of space charge on the electron paths, and motion in the time-varying fields that are encountered, for example, in the cathode-ray oscilloscope. For a discussion of the motion of electrons and other charged particles in cases where the velocities approach that of light See also: Relativistic electrodynamics .
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