Oct 23, 2016
Ion-Cyclotron resonance:
A charged particle (such as an ion) in a relatively uniform magnetic field will experience a centripetal force (due to the Lorentz force), causing it to move circularly. Along a slowly changing magnetic field, a particle’s centre of orbit will move as well, causing it to trace ‘lil loop-de-loops as it moves along.
For a particular frequency f, and magnetic field B, a particle with a charge-to-mass ratio of (z/m) will experience resonance when...
(z/m)(e*B/2pi) = f