Question about magnetic forceI have some confusion regarding the magnetic force. I know that the magnetic field created by a moving charge or current EXERTS a force on any moving charge or current that is present in the field. But when trying to understand the motion of a charged particle in an uniform magnetic field, the youtube video I saw explained it like this: "The magnetic force on a charged particle ALWAYS points perpendicularly with respect to the velocity and magnetic field. Whenever a force acts on an object perpendicular to its motion, the object will undergo circular motion--this creates a centripetal acceleration)"I am confused. Is the charged particle exerting a force on itself? Or what is the force that acts on the charged particle that is moving? If the charge particle creates a force due to the magnetic field, is the force it creates itself the force that makes it undergo a circular motion?

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Question about magnetic forceI have some confusion regarding the magnetic force. I know that the magnetic field created by a moving charge or current EXERTS a force on any moving charge or current that is present in the field. But when trying to understand the motion of a charged particle in an uniform magnetic field, the youtube video I saw explained it like this: &quot;The magnetic force on a charged particle ALWAYS points perpendicularly with respect to the velocity and magnetic field. Whenever a force acts on an object perpendicular to its motion, the object will undergo circular motion--this creates a centripetal acceleration)&quot;I am confused. Is the charged particle exerting a force on itself? Or what is the force that acts on the charged particle that is moving? If the charge particle creates a force due to the magnetic field, is the force it creates itself the force that makes it undergo a circular motion?

aitantiskbx2v · Accepted Answer

The charged particle is not exerting a force on itself. The force that acts on the charged particle is created by the magnetic field. By the Lorentz force law, ignoring the effects of the electric field,   F  =  q  (  v  ×  B  ), where   v is the velocity and   B the magnetic field. The cross product of two vectors is perpendicular to both vectors, so the force produced by the magneto field is perpendicular to the velocity, which makes the particle undergo circular motion. In short, the magnetic field produces the force which makes the particle undergo circular motion.

britesoulusjhq · Accepted Answer

As far as I understand your question you are asking whether a moving charge (creating a magnetic field because of its motion) can exert a force on itself. The answer is a clear no. Think about a conductor, which caries a current. You know that the magnetic field around the conductor is circular. That means the magnetic field is tangential to the surface of the conductor. Due to cylindrical symmetry no Lorentz force acts on the moving charges. Of course the created magnetic field may act on another moving particle but that is another issue.As Andy have already said the force that acts on a moving charge in a magnetic field is Lorentz force, which is given by             F      →        =  q  (            v      →        ×            B      →        ), where   × indicates a cross product. You see that the Lorentz force is always perpendicular to the velocity of the particle because a cross-product is an operator (call it a thing if you like), which “outputs” a vector, which is both perpendicular to             v      →       and             B      →       in this case. Recap:            c      →        =            a      →        ×            b      →          ⟹              c      →        ⊥            a      →          &amp;amp;              c      →        ⊥            b      →      (The direction of the vector is determined by the right-hand rule.) Now since the force is always perpendicular to the velocity vector, the charged and moving particle starts to move in circle            s        †   (or in helices in more complex scenarios).Assuming that the particle moves in circles you can equate the Lorentz force and the centripetal force, which arises from a circular motion and has nothing whatsoever to do with the magnetic field. For more information about centripetal force see Wikipedia.If you want to see a more mathematical derivation and explanation, I can edit my answer accordingly.          †  There are some additional conditions for this fact but I discarded them because they would clutter the argument.

Question about magnetic force I have some confusion regarding the magnetic force. I know that the

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