A Level Physics Notes: Electrons and Photons – Paths of Electrons in a Constant electric Field
The simplest way to produce a uniform electric filed is to put two oppositely charge plates opposite each other.
The electron enters from the left. When it enters the field it
experiences a force
We can find the acceleration using
We can integrate this to find the velocity
seconds
after entering the field:
We can integrate this to find the
distance
movedseconds
after entering the field:
(1)
The electron is moving to the right at a constant speed
so
Substitute this into (1) to obtain
This
is the equation of a parabola.
Because an electron is so light it's acceleration is usually very large:
If
and
