By describing the motion of a charged particle in the well-known nonuniform field of a current-carrying long straight wire, a variety of teaching/learning opportunities are described.

  1. Brief review of a standard problem

  2. Vector analysis

  3. Dimensionless variables

  4. Coupled differential equations

  5. Numerical solutions

Topics
Electromagnetism, Magnetic fields, Newtonian mechanics, Dimensional analysis, Cyclotron resonance, Particle acceleration, String theory, Educational aids, Teaching, News and events
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© 2015 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2015
American Association of Physics Teachers
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