Biography:Robert Millikan
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| Robert A. Millikan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Millikan | |
| Born | 22 March 1868 Morrison, Illinois, United States |
| Died | 19 December 1953 San Marino, California, United States
|
| Known for | Oil-drop experiment; elementary charge; photoelectric effect |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physics (1923) |
Robert A. Millikan (1868-1953) was an American physicist best known for the oil-drop experiment, which measured the elementary electric charge. His work made the charge of the electron a precise physical constant.
Elementary charge
Millikan's oil-drop experiment measured tiny charged droplets suspended in an electric field. By comparing electric and gravitational forces, Millikan inferred that electric charge occurs in discrete units. This result supported the particle picture of electricity and the electron.
Millikan also worked on the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon central to early quantum theory.
Quantum Collection links
- Physics:Quantum electron
- Physics:Quantum atoms/electron
- Physics:Quantum Planck constant
- Physics:Quantum photoelectric effect
References
- "Robert A. Millikan - Biographical". Nobel Prize Outreach. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1923/millikan/biographical/.
- "Robert Millikan". https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Millikan.
External links
Author: Harold Foppele