Ion Cyclotron Resonance - Definition of The Resonant Frequency

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

Famous quotes containing the words definition of, definition, resonant and/or frequency:

    Perhaps the best definition of progress would be the continuing efforts of men and women to narrow the gap between the convenience of the powers that be and the unwritten charter.
    Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)

    ... we all know the wag’s definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.
    George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)

    Charity is a cop-out so traditionally female in its apparent self-effacement that there seems resonant comfort in it. We’re no longer supposed to serve the imaginations of men who have dominated us. We are to give up ourselves instead to those whose suffering is greater than our own. Looking down is just as distorting as looking up and as dangerous in perpetuating hierarchies.
    Jane Rule (b. 1931)

    One is apt to be discouraged by the frequency with which Mr. Hardy has persuaded himself that a macabre subject is a poem in itself; that, if there be enough of death and the tomb in one’s theme, it needs no translation into art, the bold statement of it being sufficient.
    Rebecca West (1892–1983)