E × B DriftA magnetic field alone makes a charged particle circle in place. Switch on an electric field and each circle slides sideways — not along the push, but at right angles to both fields. Positive and negative charges loop opposite ways yet drift together, so no net current flows.Solve the Lorentz force F = q(E + v×B) and the motion splits into a fast circle plus a steady glide at velocity E×B / B². It is how the aurora's curtains slide and how a Hall thruster pushes a spacecraft.