🚀 go-pugleaf

Millikan using his oil drop experiment found a smallest value of charge on
a drop of oil which he claimed to be a single charge, ie of the electron. 
There was no mass involved.  With the charge to mass determined by J.J>
Thomson, the mass of the electron was known.


In article <2qcmj3$8v5@news.tamu.edu>, t0k6704@tamsun.tamu.edu (Thomas
Karch) wrote:

> Doug Dias (dougdias@COPERNICUS.BBN.COM) wrote:
> :  Here's another question posed by students:
> : Historically, where did the amount of charge on an electron get its value
> : from? I know that a Coulomb is based upon an Ampere, but before they were
> : defined, where did the actual value originate?  This is more of a history
> : question, than physics, but we were wondering...
> 
> Historically I would say the milestones for the discovery of the elementary
> charge are
> - Millikans oil drop experiment (e/m) and
> - J.J. Tompsons actual 'discovery' of the electron.
> 
> Everything with refinements of course, to find the 'real' value...
> (Of course the real value will never be known, unless you redefine your 
> units as in the case of the velocity of light)  
> 
> Thomas

-- 
Joseph Bellina (jbellina@saintmarys.edu)