Chemistry: Animation, Video, and Laboratory Activity

Once the charge-to-mass ratio for the electron had been determined, additional experiments were necessary to determine the value of either its mass or its charge, so that the other could be calculated. In 1909, Robert Millikan (1868–1953) solved this dilemma with the famous “oil-drop experiment,” in which he determined the charge of the electron.

The Millikan oil-drop experiment. Tiny spherical oil droplets are produced by an atomizer. The mass of the spherical drop can be calculated from its volume (obtained from a measurement of the radius of the drop with a microscope) and the known density of the oil. A few droplets fall through the hole in the upper plate. Irradiation with X-rays gives some of these oil droplets a negative charge. When the voltage between the plates is increased, a negatively charged drop falls more slowly because it is attracted by the positively charged upper plate and repelled by the negatively charged lower plate. At one particular voltage, the electrical force (up) and the gravitational force (down) on the drop are exactly balanced, and the drop remains stationary. Knowing this voltage and the mass of the drop, we can calculate the charge on the drop.

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