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Q: What was Millikan able to quantitate using his famous oil drop experiment in which he suspended oil drops in an electric field?
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Who measured the charge on the electron?

Sir Joseph Thomson (J.J. Thomson) determined the charge of the electron in 1897, calling them "corpuscles." Previously electron beams had been referred to as Lenard rays and cathode rays.J.J. Thompson with his cathod ray tube experiment.


What did Robert Millikan discover about the electron?

Born in Morrison, Illinois, Robert Andrew Millikan was the second son of the Reverend Silas Franklin Millikan and Mary Jane Andrews. When Millikan was seven, his family moved to Maquoketa, Iowa, where he attended high school. In 1886 he entered Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1887 he enrolled in several classics classes there, and because he did quite well in Greek, at the end of his sophomore year, he was asked to teach an introductory-level physics class. He enjoyed teaching physics and accepted a two-year teaching post at Oberlin upon graduation in 1891. It was during this period that he developed an even keener interest in physics.In 1893 Millikan began his doctoral work at Columbia University, receiving a Ph.D. in 1895. After travelling to Germany, he eventually accepted a faculty position at the University of Chicago. It was as a teacher and textbook author that Millikan first made his mark. He wrote or co-wrote a number of elementary physics texts that became the classics in this field. However, while valued activities, they did not lead to his promotion to full professor. Determined to ascend in academic rank, Millikan began his research into the charge on the electron.At the time, the debate over whether or not atoms were real had almost played out, but the questions surrounding the true nature of the electron were still unanswered. Although the work of the English physicist J. J. Thomson had elucidated the charge-to-mass ratio, determining that the electron had a discrete, fixed charge and mass remained.Being an experimentalist, Millikan used a tiny, submillimeter drop of oil suspended between capacitor plates to measure the incremental charge on an electron. His reasoned that the oil drop would pick up a charge due to friction as it entered the region between the plates. By ionizing the atmosphere and monitoring the motion of multiple drops, he was able to compare the time that the drop took to fall under the influence of gravity and with the electrical plates off, against the time that it took for the drop to climb under the influence of applied voltage . The interaction of the drop with the electric field always occurred in discrete units, indicating that the electron charge was a single value, and that it was the same value for all different forms of electricity.Millikan's oil-drop experiment settled the argument and determined accurately (within one part in a thousand) both the charge and, by virtue of the charge-to-mass ratio, the mass of the electron. Both numbers allowed the Danish physicist Niels Bohr to finally calculate Rydberg's constant and provided the first and most important proof of the new atomic theory .Millikan went on to demonstrate the photoelectron effect, providing a valuable proof of Albert Einstein's equations. His experiments also aided both Einstein and Bohr in their later research efforts. In 1923 he was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics for both his work in determining the charge on the electron and exploring the photoelectric effect.


How thales experiment produce static elictricity?

By rubbing amber with fur static electric charges are produced


How are the stationary waves produced in Melde's experiment?

Originally, they were produced with a tuning fork, but later, with the advent of electricity, an electric switch was used.


What was Thomson's cathode ray tube experiment?

optical charged plate attracted the beam. he concluded that the beam was made up of particles that have a new electric charge.

Related questions

When did Robert Millikan contribute to atomic theory?

Robert A. Millikan conducted many experiments throughout his long, distinguished career. If you're referring to the famous "oil drop" experiment that measured the quantum of electric charge, Millikan and Harvey Fletcher performed that particular one in 1909.


Who calculated the negative charge of an electron?

The brilliant, so-called "Oil-drop experiment" of Robert A. Millikan established the magnitude of the quantum of electric charge ... the amount of charge on each electron (negative) and each proton (positive). Search around on line for "Millikan oil drop experiment" to read the fascinating story of how it was done.


A physicist who determined the chare of an electron by means of his oil-drop experiment?

There are two scientist working together: The oil drop experiment was an experiment performed by Robert Millikan and Harvey Fletcher in 1909 to measure the charge of the electron (the elementary electric charge).


How did Millikan control the motion of the charged oil drops?

By adjusting an electric field.


Who measured the charge on the electron?

Sir Joseph Thomson (J.J. Thomson) determined the charge of the electron in 1897, calling them "corpuscles." Previously electron beams had been referred to as Lenard rays and cathode rays.J.J. Thompson with his cathod ray tube experiment.


Why electron has negatively charged?

The determination of charge of an electron was done by R.A. Millikan in 1913, In R.A. Millikan's working (Millikan's oil drop experiment) explained as follows the terminal velocity of charged oil drop is measured under two conditions viz. under gravity alone and under the combined action of gravity and electric field oppose the gravity . Negatively charge drop is selected and its motion is studied.I think it's due to this electron has (-)ve charge.In fact, it is a very long experiment ,i can't explain all of it.


Who discovered that electric charges are positive or negative?

Robert Millikan discovered the electron's charge using the oil drip experiment. Eugene Goldstein discovered positive particles with the anode/cathode ray tube. James Chadwick discovered the neutral particle with the beryllium and paraffin wax experiment.


What are some good physics experiments?

Here are a few classic physics experiments: Young's double-slit experiment to demonstrate wave interference. Cavendish experiment to measure the gravitational constant. Millikan oil drop experiment to measure the fundamental unit of electric charge. Michelson-Morley experiment to test the existence of the luminiferous ether.


What experiment did Robert Millikan do to changed atomic theory?

He used voltage adjustments to make charged oil drops float


What are the release dates for MotoMan - 2010 Looking Into the Crystal Ball of Hydrogen Electric--- SUSPENDED?

MotoMan - 2010 Looking Into the Crystal Ball of Hydrogen Electric--- SUSPENDED was released on: USA: 2010


What is a good science fair experiment?

A volcano, or make a electric car, or a vinigar and baking powder experiment.


What are the uses of oil drop experiment of robert millikan at present?

In this method oil droplets in the form of mist was produced by an atomiser and they were allowed to enter through a tiny hole in the upper plate of electrical condenser.The downward motion of these droplets was viewed through a telescope wid micrometer eye peice. By measuring the rate of fall of these droplets, Millikan was able to measure the mass of oil droplets. Also the air inside the chamber was ionized by passing Xray beams thru it.The electrical charge on these droplets was acquired by collision with gaseous ions...For more information...check in yahoo answers