Cyclotron Frequency Calculator

About this calculator

The cyclotron frequency is the rate at which a charged particle circles around magnetic field lines, given by f = qB / (2πm), where q is the particle's charge, B is the magnetic field strength, and m is its mass. Remarkably, this frequency doesn't depend on the particle's speed or the radius of its orbit — a faster particle just traces a wider circle in the same amount of time, which is the principle that made the original cyclotron particle accelerator possible.

Physicists and engineers use this formula to design cyclotron accelerators (used in nuclear physics research and medical isotope production), to interpret cyclotron resonance in mass spectrometers and plasma devices, and to understand charged-particle motion in the Van Allen belts and other astrophysical magnetic fields. Enter the charge, magnetic field, and mass to find the orbital frequency.