What is Lorentz's strength?

Lorentz's strength was discovered by Dutch physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and describes the force acting on individual moving electrical charges within a magnetic field. A possible definition and the physical formula with which the Lorentz force is calculated is as follows:

"If a charged particle "q" moves at a velocity "v" perpendicular to the field lines of a magnetic field with flux density "B", the Lorentz force acts on this particle."

       F = q * v * B

However, to really understand Lorentz's strength, some basic concepts must first be clarified. These basic concepts include, magnets with their magnetic fields. As we know, magnets have two poles, the North Pole and the South Pole. If you bring two different poles together, they attract each other, two identical poles repel each other.

If we bring a magnet close to a ferromagnetic material like iron, it is attracted, that is, the iron moves in the direction of the magnet within the so-called magnetic field. The magnetic field can be displayed by means of field lines. These field lines generally flow from the north to the south pole and never cross.

This begins to work if we now place an electrically charged conductor between the magnetic field lines mentioned above. The electrical conductor is moved by Lorentz's force.

How can the direction of Lorentz's force be determined?

The left hand rule and the right hand rule can be used to determine the direction of Lorentz's force, i.e. whether the driver described in our previous example is moving to the right or to the left. If the current flows from - to +, the left rule applies and vice versa from + to - for the right rule.

You can see exactly three fingers, the thumb, the index and the middle finger. No matter which of the two rules we use, the thumb represents the origin, that is, the direction of the electron stream. The index finger indicates the direction of the magnetic field, i.e. the direction of the field lines, and the middle finger represents the direction of the force.

Then we see that the driver moves to the left, the middle finger is shown to the left and vice versa. This rule is also called the UVW rule, where U stands for cause (thumb), V for mediation (index finger) and W for effect (middle finger).

The Lorentz force benefits from many physical experiments and is also a fundamental principle in technical applications such as electric motors, generators or televisions. If you would like more information or have further questions about magnetism, you can contact our specialized staff at any time.