Charge in an electromagnetic field

Interactive simulation (three.js, with a freely orbitable 3D camera) of the motion of an electric charge in uniform electric and/or magnetic fields, with electric and magnetic forces displayed in real time and examples of straight-line, circular, helical, and cycloidal trajectories.

The trajectory is determined by the Lorentz force, F = q(E + v × B), with the equations of motion integrated numerically using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. In a uniform magnetic field alone, the trajectory is circular or helical; when perpendicular electric and magnetic fields are combined, cycloidal E×B drift arises, in which the charge advances on average in the direction perpendicular to both fields.

Marco P. M. de Souza