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Re: Millikan Apparatus- best one ?



On Thu, 10 Oct 1996, Steve Luzader wrote:
Brad Shue wrote:

Leigh,
we do the Millikan every spring semester. When I do it, I get
very good results. ...
I can't give you any info on the actual data that the students
take because our current manual stinks and the experimental procedure
sucks. If done correctly, I have seen it to within 5% of the actual
value.

768-76, May 1972) The reviewer said that in his opinion, most students
fail to understand the significance of the experiment. The main purpose
shouldn't be measurement of the electron's charge (which is what Brad
Shue refers to), but rather demonstration of the quantization of charge
(which is what Leigh Palmer refers to).

Steve, it does use the quantization method. But, you can extrapolate back
to find the charge of a single electron. BTW, when I did it as a senior
in college, the purpose of the lab WAS to find the charge of the electron.
--
James Bradford Shue jshue@comp.uark.edu
University of Arkansas Voice phone:(501) 575-6059
Physics Lab/Demo Curator FAX Number: (501) 575-4580
WWW Page http://comp.uark.edu/~jshue