Statement
14.4.13.
How long will it take for an electron born without an initial velocity in an
cm(1cVm=300 CGS units of strength)
electric field with an intensity of E = 104V
to travel a distance of l = 1 m in this field?
Solution
We start from Newton's second law in its relativistic form. Since the electric force is constant and equal to
because the electron is born at rest
Now we need to relate momentum to velocity. In special relativity, this relation is
The distance traveled x is obtained by integrating velocity over time. Using
This integral is standard. Making the substitution
In this expression, the distance l already appears as a function of time
Now we isolate
We subtract 1 and expand the square of the parenthesis
We substitute
We multiply both sides by
Finally, we take the positive square root, since time is positive, and obtain:
If we apply the numerical data whut the formula we have :
The electron travels 1 meter in approximately 4.7 nanoseconds, reaching speeds close to that of light due to the intense electric field.