What affects the magnitude of the deflection of the cathode ray in Thomson's experiment?

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welcome back everyone. We need to determine which factors influence the amount of cathode rays that were deflected in Thompson's experiment. So the experiment we are thinking of is our thompsons cathode ray tube. And we want to recall that for our amount of deflection experienced by the cathode ray due to the magnetic field caused by the electric plates, where one plate bared a positive charge. The other bearing a negative charge is dependent on three factors. So we'll say the cathode deflection is dependent on our magnetic or electric field strength. That would be reason number one, where we would recognize that the greater deflection corresponds to a stronger magnet strength or in the case of the electric field, we can say a greater voltage on the charged plate factor. Number two, we recall that the deflection of our cathode beam is also dependent on our magnitude of the negative charge on the electron. Because our cathode beam or cathode ray, we would recall as made up of our negatively charged electrons which are coming out of a radioactive source. So with point number two, we would realize that the greater our electron charge corresponds to a greater magnetic interaction or electric field interaction. And that will ultimately lead to a greater amount of deflection. And lastly, our third factor that our cathode ray deflection is dependent on is our mass of our electron. Where we can understand that the greater the deflection of our cathode beam that corresponds to a lighter particle. So a decreased electron mass. So looking at our answer choices, we can confirm that the only correct choice would be Choice B, which states that the mass of the electron is a correct factor. Which influenced the amount of cathode rays deflected in Thompson's experiment. We would correct statement A to say that it would be dependent on the magnitude of the negative charge of the electron, which is why we ruled out choice A choice C which states that the direction of the magnetic field is the factor would be totally incorrect. We would rule that out. We know that it's dependent on our strength of our magnetic field. And then, statement D says that the size of the cathode ray is the factor that's important and we are not worried about the size of the cathode ray. As we've outlined, we're worried about the mass of our electron, which again is choice B. As our final answer, I hope everything I explained was clear. If you have any questions, leave them down below and I'll see everyone in the next practice video

What affects the magnitude of the deflection of the cathode ray in Thomson's experiment?

Verified Solution

Key Concepts

Cathode Rays

Electric and Magnetic Fields

Charge-to-Mass Ratio