Ion cyclotron resonance is a phenomenon related to the movement of
ions
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
in a
magnetic field. It is used for accelerating ions in a
cyclotron
A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest O. Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Jan ...
, and for measuring the masses of an ionized analyte in
mass spectrometry, particularly with
Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance
Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry is a type of mass analyzer (or mass spectrometer) for determining the mass-to-charge ratio (''m''/''z'') of ions based on the ion cyclotron resonance, cyclotron frequency of the ions in a ...
mass spectrometers. It can also be used to follow the
kinetics of chemical reactions in a dilute gas mixture, provided these involve charged species.
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
In physics, angular frequency "''ω''" (also referred to by the terms angular speed, circular frequency, orbital frequency, radian frequency, and pulsatance) is a scalar measure of rotation rate. It refers to the angular displacement per unit tim ...
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
A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helic ...
, or with a uniform motion perpendicular to the field (e.g., in the presence of an electrical or gravitational field) resulting in a
cycloid
In geometry, a cycloid is the curve traced by a point on a circle as it rolls along a straight line without slipping. A cycloid is a specific form of trochoid and is an example of a roulette, a curve generated by a curve rolling on another cu ...
.
Ion cyclotron resonance heating
Ion cyclotron resonance heating (or ICRH) is a technique in which
electromagnetic waves with frequencies corresponding to the ion cyclotron frequency is used to heat up a
plasma. The ions in the plasma absorb the electromagnetic radiation and as a result of this, increase in
kinetic energy
In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion.
It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acc ...
. This technique is commonly used in the heating of
tokamak
A tokamak (; russian: токамáк; otk, 𐱃𐰸𐰢𐰴, Toḳamaḳ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being ...
plasmas.
In the solar wind
On March 8, 2013, NASA released an article according to which ion cyclotron waves were identified by its solar probe spacecraft called WIND as the main cause for the heating of the
solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sol ...
as it rises from the sun's surface. Before this discovery, it was unclear why the solar wind particles would heat up instead of cool down, when speeding away from the sun's surface.
See also
*
Cyclotron resonance
Cyclotron resonance describes the interaction of external forces with charged particles experiencing a magnetic field, thus already moving on a circular path. It is named after the cyclotron, a cyclic particle accelerator that utilizes an oscillati ...
*
Electron cyclotron resonance
Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) is a phenomenon observed in plasma physics, condensed matter physics, and accelerator physics. It happens when the frequency of incident radiation coincides with the natural frequency of rotation of electrons in m ...
References
Condensed matter physics
Electric and magnetic fields in matter
Ion source
Scientific techniques
Plasma physics
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