Robert Millikan (1 jan 1868 ano – 1 jan 1953 ano)

Descrição:

Robert Millikan (1868-1953) was an American physicist that discovered the charge of an electron in his experiment, the Oil Drop Experiment (1908-1917), in which he used a contraption optimizing a perfume atomizer. The atomizer was used to spray oil droplets into a small chamber. These droplets were pulled down by gravity, and the air was subsequently ionized by pulling electrons from the outside air. Droplets that picked up electron(s) either rose to the top or fell more slowly. From examining these droplets individually, Millikan was able to determine that the charge of an electron is a constant, 1.59 x 10^-19 C.