Measurement of the charge-to-mass ratio of particles trapped by the Paul trap for education

TL;DR

This paper presents a new, compact all-in-one Paul trap with a high-voltage transformer and webcam, enabling students to measure particle charge-to-mass ratios in educational settings, including middle and high schools.

Contribution

Development of an accessible, all-in-one Paul trap device suitable for educational use, allowing practical measurements of charge-to-mass ratios with different electrode configurations.

Findings

Reasonable charge-to-mass ratios were obtained for particles.

The device is used in several educational facilities in Japan.

The trap can be observed via built-in webcam.

Abstract

Paul traps are devices that confine particles using an alternating electric field and have been used in undergraduate experimental classes at universities. Owing to the requirement of a high voltage ($> 10^3$ V), Paul traps are not used in middle and high schools. Therefore, we developed an all-in-one-type Paul trap , including a high-voltage transformer. The Paul trap can be equipped with two different types of electrode attachments, ring-type and linear-type, and the trap image can be observed using a built-in web camera. For example, the charge-to-mass ratio of particles was measured with different types of attachments, and reasonable values were obtained. These types of trap devices are currently used at several educational facilities in Japan.