Past exam of the physics 2 paper of the University of Oxford / 2014 / 4 / 1 / Solution

For the intended force-balanced straight-line motion, the Lorentz force vanishes:For a nonzero uniform magnetic field, this implies $\mathbf{E}\cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ andwhile a component parallel to $\mathbf{B}$ is unrestricted. A straight trajectory by itself states only that the force has no transverse component, $\mathbf{v}\times (\mathbf{E}+\mathbf{v}\times \mathbf{B})=0$. For example, parallel electric field and motion can give straight but accelerated motion. The boxed cancellation is the usual constant-velocity interpretation of the source.