Millikan carried out a series of experiments between 1908 and 1917 that allowed him to determine the charge of a single electron, famously know as the oil drop experiment. He sprayed tiny drops of oil into a chamber. ... The oil drops picked up static charge and were suspended between two charged plates.
What did Millikan use to bring charged oil drops to rest?
To measure the charge on a drop, Millikan used a device called an electrical micro- balance . ... By adjusting the electric force to balance the downward gravi- tational force, Millikan could bring a charged drop of oil to rest in the region between the plates (Figure 2).
How did Millikan determine the charge?
By comparing applied electric force with changes in the motion of the oil drops , he was able to determine the electric charge on each drop. He found that all of the drops had charges that were simple multiples of a single number, the fundamental charge of the electron.
Where did the oil drops go to be measured?
The oil drop experiment was performed by Robert A. Millikan and Harvey Fletcher in 1909 to measure the elementary electric charge (the charge of the electron). The experiment took place in the Ryerson Physical Laboratory at the University of Chicago .
How did Millikan learn physics in college?
He taught himself physics while a student at Oberlin College since there was nobody on the faculty to instruct him in this field. ... His studies on the properties of the electron proved to be of great value in many areas of physics and chemistry. Robert Millikan.
What did Millikan oil drop experiment prove?
Millikan’s oil drop experiment proved that electric charge is quantized . ... Millikan believed that there was a smallest unit of charge, and he set out to prove it. This was the big result of the oil drop experiment. That he could also determine the charge of the electron was a secondary benefit.
Why did Millikan use oil instead of water?
Professor Millikan has made several innovations to improve the experiment. First, droplets of oil are used instead of water, to reduce the tendency of the droplets to evaporate while the experiment is being performed . ... was later traced to the fact that Millikan’s value of the viscosity of air had been a little low.
Can you explain Millikan’s oil drop experiment detailed?
Millikan’s oil drop experiment measured the charge of an electron . ... Electrically charged oil droplets entered the electric field and were balanced between two plates by altering the field. When the charged drops fell at a constant rate, the gravitational and electric forces on it were equal.
Which oil is used in Millikan oil drop method?
Ernest Z. Millikan used vacuum pump oil for his experiment.
How is charge of an electron determined?
In 1909, Robert Millikan and Harvey Fletcher conducted the oil drop experiment to determine the charge of an electron. They suspended tiny charged droplets of oil between two metal electrodes by balancing downward gravitational force with upward drag and electric forces.
How many drops did Millikan use?
Millikan’s paper of 1913 reported on 58 drops . He stated “that this is not a selected group of drops, but represents all the drops experimented upon during 60 consecutive days.”
How many negative charges does the drop contain?
The drop contains 37 negative charges .
What did Millikan conclude?
Millikan, carrying out a long and tedious task that involved a set of collateral experiments, repeated the experiment numerous times, eventually concluding that the results obtained could be explained if there was a single, elementary charge (the value of which he determined) and the charges identified were integer ...
How did Millikan prove Einstein right?
Millikan undertook a decade-long experimental program to test Einstein’s theory by careful measurement of the photoelectric effect , and even devised techniques for scraping clean the metal surfaces inside the vacuum tube needed for an uncontaminated experiment.
Who taught Millikan?
| Robert A. Millikan | Institutions University of Chicago California Institute of Technology | Thesis On the polarization of light emitted from the surfaces of incandescent solids and liquids. (1895) | Doctoral advisor Ogden Nicholas Rood | Other academic advisors Mihajlo Pupin Albert A. Michelson Walther Nernst |
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What was Ernest Rutherford’s experiment?
Ernest Rutherford’s most famous experiment is the gold foil experiment . A beam of alpha particles was aimed at a piece of gold foil. Most alpha particles passed through the foil, but a few were scattered backward. This showed that most of the atom is empty space surrounding a tiny nucleus.
