Question

Which property of the cyclotron motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field forms the basis of particle accelerators?

Options

• The kinetic energy of the particle increases continuously during circular motion

• The time period of revolution increases as the particle's speed increases

• The angular frequency ω, frequency ν, and time period T are completely independent of the particle's speed and radius

• The radius of the circular path is independent of the magnetic field strength

Answer 1

Both ω, ν, and T are completely independent of the particle's speed and radius. This critical insight is the cyclotron principle — the basis of particle accelerators — because the particle stays in phase with an alternating electric field regardless of how fast it moves.