Drift of Charged Particles

a relatively slow directed movement of charged particles under the influence of various factors that is superimposed on their basic movement. For example, when an electric current is transmitted through an ionized gas, the electrons acquire a small velocity directed along the electric field, in addition to the speed of their random thermal motion. In this case one speaks of the current drift speed. A second example is the drift of charged particles in crossed fields, when perpendicular electric and magnetic fields both act on a particle. The speed of such drift is numerically equal to cE/H, where c is the speed of light, E is the voltage of the electric field in the cgs system of units, and H is the tension of the magnetic field in oersteds. This speed is perpendicular to E and H and is superimposed on the thermal speed of the particles.