Explain Millikan oil drop experiment in simple ways?

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Solution

The experiment entailed observing tiny electrically charged droplets of oil located between two parallel metal surfaces, forming the plates of a capacitor. The plates were oriented horizontally, with one plate above the other. A mist of atomized oil drops was introduced through a small hole in the top plate. First, with zero applied electric field, the velocity of a falling droplet was measured. At terminal velocity, the drag force equals the gravitational force. As both forces depend on the radius in different ways, the radius of the droplet, and therefore the mass and gravitational force, could be determined (using the known density of the oil). Then, a voltage, inducing an electric field, was applied between the plates and adjusted until the drops were suspended in mechanical equilibrium, indicating that the electrical force and the gravitational force were in balance. Using the known electric field, Millikan and Fletcher could determine the charge on the oil droplet

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Q. Assume that Millikan performed the oil drop experiment. In the oil drop experiment, the following charges(in arbitrary units) were found on a series of oil droplets. Calculate the magnitude of the charge on the electron.
(a) 1.6 × 10-¹9 C
(b) 4 × 10-¹5 C
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Assume that Millikan performed the oil drop experiment. In the oil drop experiment, the following charges(in arbitrary units) were found on a series of oil droplets.

The data obtained is as follows:

2 $\times$ $10^{- 19}$ C
4 $\times$ $10^{- 19}$ C
6 $\times$ $10^{- 19}$ C

Calculate the magnitude of the charge on the electron.

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