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Visualizing the electron's quantization with a ruler.
- Source :
-
Scientific Reports . 5/25/2021, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p1-5. 5p. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- More than 100 years ago, Robert Millikan demonstrated the quantization of the electron using charged, falling droplets, but the statistical analysis on many falling droplets did not allow a direct visualization of the quantization of charge. Instead of letting the droplets fall, we have used optical levitation to create a single droplet version of Millikan's experiment where the effects of a single electron removal can be observed by the naked eye and measured with a ruler. As we added charges to the levitated droplet, we observed that its equilibrium position jumped vertically in quantized steps. The discrete nature of the droplet's jumps is a direct consequence of the single-electron changes in the charge on the droplet, and therefore clearly demonstrates the quantization of charge. The steps were optically magnified onto a wall and filmed. We anticipate that the video of these single electron additions can become a straightforward demonstration of the quantization of charge for a general audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ELECTRONS
*DROPLETS
*EQUILIBRIUM
*QUANTIZATION (Physics)
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20452322
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Scientific Reports
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 150495789
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89714-2