I'll admit in advance that this physics failure came up in a particularly silly prompt. Here's an excerpt from the response:
[...]
Carrie: Okay, so what's the equation?
Samantha: It's pretty simple. It's just F = q * v * B * sinθ, where F is the magnetic force, q is the charge, v is the velocity, B is the magnetic field, and θ is the angle between the velocity and the magnetic field.
Charlotte: Okay, that makes sense. So we just plug in the values for the charge, velocity, and magnetic field, and we get the magnetic force.
Miranda: Right. And we can use the right-hand rule to determine the direction of the magnetic force.
Samantha: Exactly. The right-hand rule is a simple way to remember the direction of the magnetic force. You just point your thumb in the direction of the velocity, and your fingers in the direction of the magnetic field. Then, the magnetic force will be in the direction of your middle finger.
Carrie: Okay, I think I understand. So if we have a point charge moving in the positive x-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the positive z-direction, the magnetic force will be in the positive y-direction.
Charlotte: That's right. And if we have a point charge moving in the positive y-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the negative x-direction, the magnetic force will be in the positive z-direction.
Miranda: And if we have a point charge moving in the negative z-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the positive y-direction, the magnetic force will be in the negative x-direction.
[...]
[Samantha has absolutely no idea how to describe the Right Hand Rule, and assuming it's a positive charge, only Charlotte gets the right answer.]
[...] Carrie: Okay, so what's the equation?
Samantha: It's pretty simple. It's just F = q * v * B * sinθ, where F is the magnetic force, q is the charge, v is the velocity, B is the magnetic field, and θ is the angle between the velocity and the magnetic field.
Charlotte: Okay, that makes sense. So we just plug in the values for the charge, velocity, and magnetic field, and we get the magnetic force.
Miranda: Right. And we can use the right-hand rule to determine the direction of the magnetic force.
Samantha: Exactly. The right-hand rule is a simple way to remember the direction of the magnetic force. You just point your thumb in the direction of the velocity, and your fingers in the direction of the magnetic field. Then, the magnetic force will be in the direction of your middle finger.
Carrie: Okay, I think I understand. So if we have a point charge moving in the positive x-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the positive z-direction, the magnetic force will be in the positive y-direction.
Charlotte: That's right. And if we have a point charge moving in the positive y-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the negative x-direction, the magnetic force will be in the positive z-direction.
Miranda: And if we have a point charge moving in the negative z-direction, and a magnetic field pointing in the positive y-direction, the magnetic force will be in the negative x-direction. [...]
[Samantha has absolutely no idea how to describe the Right Hand Rule, and assuming it's a positive charge, only Charlotte gets the right answer.]