An electromagnetic wave travelling in x -direction is described by field equation E_y = 300 (t - x c ) . If the electron is restricted to move in y -direction only with speed of 1.5 10^6 m/s then ratio of maximum electric and magnetic forces acting on the electron is _______.

Step-by-step solution

The maximum electric force acting on the electron is F_e = eE₀ . The maximum magnetic force acting on the electron is F_m = evB₀ , where v is the speed of the electron and B₀ is the maximum magnetic field. The ratio of the maximum electric force to the maximum magnetic force is given by F_e F_m = eE₀ evB₀ = E₀ vB₀ . For an electromagnetic wave, the ratio of the amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields is E₀ B₀ = c , where c is the speed of light in vacuum. Substituting this into the ratio of forces yields F_e