text: Any charged particle, such as an ion, feels a force from an electric or magnetic field. Ion traps work by using this force to confine ions in a small, isolated volume of space so that they can be studied or manipulated. Although any static (constant in time) electromagnetic field produces a force on an ion, it is not possible to confine an ion using only a static electric field. This is a consequence of Earnshaw's theorem. However, physicists have various ways of working around this theorem by using combinations of static magnetic and electric fields (as in a Penning trap) or by an oscillating electric field and a static electric field(Paul trap). Ion motion and confinement in the trap is generally divided into axial and radial components, which are typically addressed separately by different fields. In both Paul and Penning traps, axial ion motion is confined by a static electric field. Paul traps use an oscillating electric field to confine the ion radially and Penning traps generate radial confinement with a static magnetic field.