What will happen if a collection of positive and negative charges are passed at a high speed through a magnetic field which is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the charges ? (Assume that both kind of charges are NOT going to recombine)

When charged particles move through a magnetic field, they experience the Lorentz force, defined by the equation F = q(v × B). This force acts perpendicular to both the velocity (v) of the particle and the magnetic field (B).

The direction of the force depends on the polarity of the charge (q):

• Positive charges experience a force in one direction (determined by the right-hand rule).
• Negative charges experience a force in the exactly opposite direction due to their opposite sign.

Since the magnetic field is perpendicular to the direction of motion, it exerts maximum deflecting force. Because the positive and negative charges are pushed in opposite directions, they will diverge from their original path and separate out. This principle is fundamental in applications like mass spectrometry and the functioning of cyclotrons.