Grade 12 Physics · The Mass Spectrometer
Exam-hall rules — one ion, every law
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Exam-hall rules — one ion, every law

This is the boss. No calculator. Every value is a clean power of ten and every division is meant to happen in your head — the elementary charge is e=1.6×1019 Ce = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}\ \mathrm{C}, and the exponents do most of the work.

Here is the composition the whole chapter has been walking toward. The magnetic force F=qvBF = qvB is the only sideways actor in the chamber, and it is always perpendicular to the motion — so it never changes the ion's speed, only its direction. A force that does exactly that is a centripetal force, Fc=mv2rF_c = \dfrac{mv^2}{r}, where mm is the ion's mass in kilograms and rr is the radius of the arc it traces, in metres. Set the supply equal to the demand — qvB=mv2rqvB = \dfrac{mv^2}{r} — and one factor of vv cancels off both sides, leaving r=mvqB=pqBr = \dfrac{mv}{qB} = \dfrac{p}{qB}, with p=mvp = mv the ion's momentum in kgm/s\mathrm{kg \cdot m/s}.

Momentum on top, grip underneath. Heavier or faster, wider arc; more charge or more field, tighter arc. That one line separates isotopes, dates rocks and catches dopers — and the last stage of this problem is not a number but a verdict: does the ion land on the plate, or hit the wall? Write every line down as you go. One early slip rolls the whole way to the detector. 5★ under par here is the chapter crown.

no calculator in the boss room — the numbers are chosen to fit in your head