Demo 24-24 Millikan Oil Drop

The Millikan oil drop experiment is the original classic experiment in which the charge on the electron was determined. Small oil droplets from an atomizer are squirted between two metal plates, with opposite charges on the plates. If there is a net charge of one electron on the oil droplet, electric fields can be found that create an electric force on the droplet which exactly balances the downward force of gravity, makes the oil drop move upward, or makes the drop move downward faster than gravity would pull it. This information can be used to determine the charge on the electron. A graphics section discusses this determination in some detail and explains some of the important details of the measurement of the charge on the electron using this apparatus