Parallel Motion
Since the magnetic Lorentz force is always perpendicular to the magnetic field, it has no influence (to lowest order) on the parallel motion. In a uniform field with no additional forces, a charged particle will gyrate around the magnetic field according to the perpendicular component of its velocity and drift parallel to the field according to its initial parallel velocity, resulting in a helical orbit. If there is a force with a parallel component, the particle and its guiding center will be correspondingly accelerated.
If the field has a parallel gradient, a particle with a finite Larmor radius will also experience a force in the direction away from the larger magnetic field. This effect is known as the magnetic mirror. While it is closely related to guiding center drifts in its physics and mathematics, it is nevertheless considered to be distinct from them.
Read more about this topic: Guiding Center
Famous quotes containing the words parallel and/or motion:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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