Question

What is the importance of Millikan's oil drop experiment?

Answer 1

Millikan's Oil Drop Experiment:

1. Millikan's oil-drop experiment was the first to determine the amount of charge contained by one electron.
2. Robert A. Millikan conducted this experiment in 1909, through a simple setup to quantify the minute electric charge on droplets in oil.
3. The force experienced by an electric charge placed in an electric field is obtained as the product of the charge and the electric field. Then, he also measured both the quantity of electric force and the magnitude of the electric field on a microscopic charge an oil droplet contains, to estimate the charge's magnitude.

Importance of Millikan's Oil Drop Experiment:

1. This experiment is important because it demonstrates how minute a charge can an electron carries.
2. Millikan used a fairly basic setup to control the gravitational, electrical, and air drag forces.