A free electron is placed in the path of a plane electromagnetic wave. The electron will start moving

Explanation: A particle placed in and electromagnetic wave moving


with velocity v experiences a force called Lorentz’s force due to the


electric and magnetic fields. The force is given as



where q is the charge of the particle, E is the electric field, v is the


velocity of the particle and B is the magnetic field.


An electron at rest is placed in the path of a plane electromagnetic wave. The Lorentz force acting on the electron will be



where e is the charge of the electron. As the electron is at rest so the velocity will be 0. The net Lorentz’s force will be



The electron will move in the direction of the field.

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