What did the Millikan experiment determine?
Millikan oil-drop experiment, first direct and compelling measurement of the electric charge of a single electron. Millikan was able to measure both the amount of electric force and magnitude of electric field on the tiny charge of an isolated oil droplet and from the data determine the magnitude of the charge itself.
What was Robert Millikan’s theory?
During the 1890s the theory that electricity was conveyed by a miniscule unit, the electron, gained acceptance. In 1910 Robert Millikan succeeded in precisely determining the magnitude of the electron’s charge.
What did Robert Millikan discover about the atomic theory?
Millikan discovered that there is a fundamental electric charge—the charge of an electron. Rutherford’s gold foil experiment showed that atoms have a small, dense, positively charged nucleus; the positively charged particles within the nucleus are called protons.
Why was oil used in Millikan experiment?
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.
What did Robert Millikan learn about the electron?
Robert Millikan’s oil-drop experiment. 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.
What 2 Things did Robert Millikan discover about the electron?
Robert Millikan was an American, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, credited with the discovering the value for electron charge, e, through the famous oil drop experiment, as well as achievements related to the photoelectric effect and cosmic radiation.
How did Millikan prove Einstein?
While it had been known for a long time that light falling on metal surfaces may eject electrons from them (the photoelectric effect), Millikan was the first to determine with great accuracy that the maximum kinetic energy of the ejected electrons obey the equation Einstein had proposed in 1905: namely, 1/2mv2=hf-P.
What was Robert Millikan known for?
Robert Millikan was a physicist who discovered the elementary charge of an electron using the oil-drop experiment. In 1923 Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect.”
What conclusion did Millikan make?
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 …
What is the difference between Millikan and Einstein’s work?
Millikan was an ardent pragmatist who replied on experimental design to arrive at conclusions, and Einstein’s work on the photoelectric effect was largely theoretical.
What was Millikan’s experiment?
Millikan repeated the experiment no. of times, each time varying the strength of X-rays ionizing the air. As a result no. of electrons attaching to the oil drop varied. Then he obtained various values for q, and is found to be a multiple of 1.6 x 10 -19 C. We were unable to load Disqus Recommendations.
What is the difference between theoretical science and practical science?
Theory teaches you through the experience of others. Theoretical knowledge can often lead to a deeper understand of a concept through seeing it in context of a greater whole and understanding the why behind it.. Practical science— helps you acquire the specific techniques that become the tools of your trade.
Why did Millikan win the Nobel Prize?
As The Nobel Prize website succinctly tells us, Robert Andrews Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 “for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect.” Millikan was a pragmatist focused on the scientific method and experimental design; he used observation to come to conclusions.