Definition of The Resonant Frequency
An ion in a static and uniform magnetic field will move in a circle due to the Lorentz force. The angular frequency (ω = 2π f) of this cyclotron motion for a given magnetic field strength B is given by
where z is the number of positive or negative charges of the ion, e is the elementary charge and m is the mass of the ion. An electric excitation signal having a frequency f will therefore resonate with ions having a mass-to-charge ratio m/z given by
The circular motion may be superimposed with a uniform axial motion, resulting in a helix, or with a uniform motion perpendicular to the field, e.g., in the presence of an electrical or gravitational field, resulting in a cycloid.
Read more about this topic: Ion Cyclotron Resonance
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