By measuring the terminal velocity of a droplet during its free fall, they could calculate its mass and, consequently, the gravitational force acting upon it. Millikan's oil drop experiments stand as one of the most elegant and consequential inquiries into the fundamental architecture of matter.
Millikan's Confirmation of Thomson's Electron Discovery
These droplets fell through a small hole into a region between two parallel metal plates. Legacy and Lasting Impact More perspective on Millikan's oil drop experiments can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.
This variation was not an error in measurement but a fundamental characteristic of nature, revealing that electric charge is quantized. Thomson's discovery of the electron in 1897 proved that charged particles existed, but the magnitude of their charge was entirely unknown.
Thomson's Electron Discovery and Millikan's Confirmation
5924(17)×10−19 coulombs, astonishingly close to the currently accepted value of 1. The droplets could carry 1e, 2e, 3e, or other multiples of the elementary charge, but never a fractional value of that base unit.
More About Millikan's oil drop experiments
Looking at Millikan's oil drop experiments from another angle can help expand the discussion and give readers a second clear paragraph under the same section.
More perspective on Millikan's oil drop experiments can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.
