4.II.9C
Part IA, 2005
A particle of mass and charge moving in a vacuum through a magnetic field and subject to no other forces obeys
where is the location of the particle.
For with constant , and using cylindrical polar coordinates , or otherwise, determine the motion of the particle in the plane if its initial speed is with . [Hint: Choose the origin so that and at .]
Due to a leak, a small amount of gas enters the system, causing the particle to experience a drag force , where . Write down the new governing equations and show that the speed of the particle decays exponentially. Sketch the path followed by the particle. [Hint: Consider the equations for the velocity in Cartesian coordinates; you need not apply any initial conditions.]