| The Earth's Magnetosphere and Auroral Acceleration Region | Moving and Guiding the CRT's Electron Beam | |
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| Within the magnetosphere, the voltage and charged
particles travel along the earth’s magnetic field lines to the polar
regions. At the poles, the magnetic field lines converge and the
particles enter the ionosphere.
A voltage is needed here to force the current carrying particles through the low altitude portion of the converging magnetic field lines. When the voltage penetrates into the ionosphere, it drives a current across the polar caps. This current follows an electric circuit from the solar wind, through the magnetosphere to the ionosphere and back out through the magnetosphere to the solar wind. |
The CRT acts like the charged particle region in the Earth’s magnetosphere. The electrons produced in the CRT’s electron gun are accelerated and form an electron beam similar to the particle acceleration region produced by the voltage drop near the Earth. |
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Without the electric and magnetic modulating system, all that would be seen in the center of the CRT screen is a spot. The magnetic field is changed very rapidly, deflecting the electron beam side to side and up and down. This happens so quickly, that the electron beam sweeps across the screen in a zigzag pattern creating a whole image. |
