TITLE

Millikan’s Oil drop

AIM
1. To understand the concepts and investigate the quantization of charge, and

2. To determine the elementary charge of an electron and to calculate the charge of a drop of
oil. (Department of Physics 2022, 25)

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION
The most fundamental understanding of matter is that it is made up of tiny or indivisible
particles which is the building blocks. This idea was first proposed by the Greek philosopher
Democritus around 400 BC. He came up with the theory that everything around us was made
up of small indestructible particles called ‘Atomos’. The property of the matter depended on
the type of Atomos it was made up of. However, few philosophers like Aristotle did not agree
with this.

2000 years came John Dalton, an English Chemist around the 19th century proposed some
theories which came to be ‘Dalton’s Atomic Theory’. He gave evidence that atoms exist and
postulated that compounds consist of different types of atoms in whole number ratios. Later,
it was discovered that the atom was not the fundamental particle as he proposed but was
made up of smaller particles which we know today as sub-atomic particles. In the early
1800s, Michael Faraday, an English natural philosopher carried out experiments which lead
to the discovery of the electron. In 1834 Faraday discovered the laws of electrolysis, which
describe the relationship between electric current and chemical reactions. This work led to the
understanding of the relationship between electric charge and matter and evidence for
quantization of charge. (Boudreaux, 2020, para. 2)

In the late 1800s, George Stoney, an Irish Physicist, coined the term ‘electron’. Stoney was
intrigued by the connection between substance and electric charge. He hypothesized the
existence of an elementary "electron," or basic unit of electric charge. The charge of an
electron was estimated by Stoney to be roughly 10^-20 coulombs, which is quite close to the
currently accepted number. Stoney's suggestion of the term "electron" was a crucial milestone
in the creation of modern physics, notwithstanding the limits of his work. The phrase is still
used to refer to the negatively charged subatomic particle that revolves around an atom's
nucleus. (Encyclopædia Britannica, para. 3)

The work of Michael Faraday and George Stoney served as the basis for J.J. Thomson's
discovery of the electron. Thomson demonstrated in 1897 that cathode rays were made up of
negatively charged particles, which he termed electrons, using cathode ray experiments.
Faraday's insight of the connection between electric current and matter served as the
foundation for Thomson's discovery of the electron. Thomson's discovery of the electron
might not have been possible without Faraday's work. (Boudreaux, 2020, para. 3) In order to
estimate the charge-to-mass ratio of the particles that made up the cathode rays, Thomson
exploited his discovery that cathode rays may be deflected by electric and magnetic fields.
Thomson discovered that the charge-to-mass ratio far exceeded that of any known atom,
indicating that the cathode rays were composed of particles with a mass considerably less
than an atom and a charge far greater than an atom. He concluded that these "corpuscles," as
he termed them, were the basic building blocks of matter. These entities are now referred to
as electrons. Moreover, Thomson estimated that an electron had a charge of roughly 1.758 x
10-19 coulombs. (Einstein 1905, 896)

Eventually in 1906, an American scientist, Robert Millikan conducted an experiment to

measure an electron charge with greater accuracy compared to Thomson by using oil droplets
instead of water droplets. Millikan used a chamber with two metal plates and a fine mist of
oil to carry out the experiment. Positively charged on one plate and negatively charged on the
other. The ions in the chamber's air charged the oil droplets as they descended through the
air. After measuring each droplet's velocity under the gravity-affected conditions, Millikan
applied an electric field to the chamber, causing the droplets to rise or fall depending on the
polarity of the electric field. Millikan determined the charge on each droplet by comparing
the droplets' upward and downward velocities. The charges on the droplets were consistently
some multiple of a certain amount, which he determined to be the charge of a single electron.
Millikan was able to estimate the charge of the electron to be around 1.59 x 10-19 coulombs
by performing the experiment numerous times. This was the most accurate value as today’s
accepted value of 1.602 × 10-19 Coulombs.

The importance of Millikan's experiment lay not only in his ability to determine the electron's
charge but also in his ability to show that this charge is quantized, or that it existed in
discrete, indivisible amounts. This finding opened new physics research fields and
contributed to our understanding of atomic and subatomic structure. (Millikan 1913, 109-
143)
THEORY

d
V=
t avg …1

Where,
V – rise/fall velocity of oil drop

d – distance through which the drop falls

tavg - average time taken for a drop to rise/fall through a distance

√( ) 9 η vf b
2
b
a=
2
+ - …2
2p 2 ρg 2 p

where,

a – radius of oil drop

b - constant in Pascal metre = 8.2 × 10-3 Pa • m

p - barometric pressure =1.01 x 10-5 Pa

η - viscosity of air (N • s m-2)

vf - velocity of fall (m s-1)

ρ - density of oil = 886 kgm-3

g - acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 ms-2

4 3
m= π a ρ …3
3

where,

m – mass of oil drop (kg)

ρ - density of oil = 886 kgm-3

V
E= …4
d

where:

E – Electric intensity (Vm-1)

V - the potential difference across the parallel plates (V)

d – the distance of separation between the plates (m)

mg(v f −v r )
q= …5
EVf

where,

q – charge of an oil drop

 mg
v t= …6
6 πη a

v t – terminal velocity (ms-1)

∆ v= ( d
+
t avg)
∆ d ∆ t avg
× v …7

Where,

∆ v - uncertainty in the value of the rise/fall velocity of oil drop

∆ d – the uncertainty in the distance of oil drop rise/fall distance

∆ t avg – the uncertainty in the average time recorded in seconds (s)

∆ a= (√ )1 ❑ ∆ vf
2 vf
×a …8

Where,

∆ a – uncertainty in radius of oil drop

∆ v f - the uncertainty in fall velocity of oil drop (ms-1)

∆ m= 3 ( a )
( ∆ a )2
× m …9

∆ m - uncertainty in mass of oil drop

∆ E= ( ∆dd + ∆VV ) × E …10
Where,

∆ E - uncertainty in the value of the electrical intensity

∆ d – the uncertainty in the distance of separation between the plates

∆ V – the uncertainty in potential difference across the parallel plates

∆ q= ( ∆ E ∆ vr
E
+
vr
+2
∆ vf ∆ m
vf
+
m )
×q …11

∆ q - uncertainty in the value of the charge on oil drop

∆ v t= ( ∆mm + ∆aa ) × v …12

t

∆ v t – uncertainty in terminal velocity

% error= |(q0−e)
e |× 100 …13

% error between the experimentally determined value of elementary charge

q0 – experimental charge value

e – theoretical charge value

RESULTS

Oil Drop Direction Time, t/s Average time, Velocity/

± 0.01 t/s (ms-1) × 10-5
± 0.01
1 Fall 18.22 10.81 4.63
6.99
10.55
9.49
Rise 18.89 19.43 2.57
17.65
24.36
16.80
2 Fall 3.85 5.96 8.36
7.07
6.28
6.70
Rise 5.42 6.23 8.03
4.15
7.23
8.06
3 Fall 6.23 5.95 8.40
6.08
5.90
5.58
Rise 15.68 13.46 3.71
14.70
11.60
11.86
4 Fall 10.60 10.62 4.71
10.86
10.21
 10.79
Rise 12.88 13.78 3.63
13.29
14.51
14.42
5 Fall 11.87 9.30 5.38
8.65
8.04
8.65
Rise 15.09 13.08 3.82
13.89
12.65
10.70

Voltage = (501 ± 1) V

Thermistor resistance = 1.70 MΩ

Viscosity of dry air = 1.881×10-5 Nsm-2

Distance drop travels = 5 ± 0.5× 10-4 m

Distance of separation between the plates = 7.67 ×10−3 m

CALCULATIONS

Drop 1:

Fall/Rise Velocity

d
Using, V f =
t avg

−4
(5 ×10 m)
=
10.81

= 4.63 × 10-5 m/s

 −4
(5 ×10 m)
Vr =
19.43

= 2.57 × 10-5 m/s

Radius of drop 1:

√( ) 9 η vf b
2
b
a=
2
+ -
2p 2 ρg 2 p

√( )
2 −5 −2 −5 −1 −3
2
−3
8.2 ×10 Pa∙ m 9(1.824 × 10 Ns m )(9.43 ×10 m s ) (8.2 ×10 Pa ∙m)
= 5
+ −3 −2
- 5
2(1.01 ×10 Pa) 2(886 kg m )(9.81 ms ) 2(1.01 ×10 Pa)

= 6.32×10-7 m

Mass of oil drop 1:

4 3
m= π a ρ
3

4 −7 3 −3
= π (6.32× 10 m) ( 886 kg m )
3

= 9.36 ×10-16 kg

Electric Intensity:

v
E=
d

501V
=
7.67× 10−3 m

= 6.53×104 Vm-1
Charge:

m1 g( v f + v r)
q 1=
EVf

( 9.36 ×10−16 kg ) (9.81 m s−1)(4.63× 10−5 m s−1+2.57 × 10−5 m s−1 )

=
( 5.29 ×10 4 V m−1 ) ( 4.63 ×10−5 m s−1)

= 2.19×10-19 C

Terminal Velocity:

mg
VT=
6 πη a

( 9.36 × 10−16 kg ) (9.81 ms− 1 )

= −5 −2 −7
6 π (1.874 ×10 Ns m )(6.32 ×10 m)

= 4.09×10-5 ms-1

Table 2 showing calculated values for each drop

Oil Radius, a, Mass, m, × 10-15 Electrical Charge carried, Terminal

Drop × 10-7 (m) (kg) Intensity, E, q, ×10-19 (C) Velocity, vt ,

× 104 (Vm-1) ×10-5 (ms-1)

1 6.32 93.6 6.53 2.19 4.01

2 8.63 2.38 6.53 7.02 7.64

3 8.65 2.40 6.53 5.20 7.68

4 6.38 9.63 6.53 2.56 4.18

5 6.84 1.19 6.53 3.05 4.81

Value of elementary charge:

q1 to q5 order of ascending,

q2 = 7.02×10-19 C

q3 = 5.20×10-19 C

q5 = 3.05 ×10-19 C

q4 = 2.56 ×10-19 C

q1 = 2.19 ×10-19 C

Difference of two smallest charges,

q2- q3= 1.81×10-19 C

q3- q5= 2.14×10-19 C

q5- q4= 4.94×10-19 C

q2- q3= 3.72×10-19 C

The two smallest differences were not used as the elementary charge because the difference
between them were negligible. Therefore, the difference between q2 and q3 were used
1.81×10-19 C

ERROR ANALYSIS

Drop 1:

Error in velocity,

∆ vf =
( ∆ d ∆ t avg
d
+
t avg )× vf

∆ vf =( 0.5 ×10−4 0.39

5 ×10
−4
+
10.81 )
× 4.63 ×10−5

= 6.29×10-6 ms-1
∆ v r= ( ∆ d ∆ t avg
d
+
t avg
× vf
)
∆ v r=
( 0.5 ×10−4 0.39
+
5× 10− 4 19.43
×2.57 × 10−5 )
= 3.09×10-6 ms-1

Error in radius,

∆ a❑= (√ )1 ❑ ∆vf
2 vf
×a❑

(√ )
−6
= 1 ❑ 6.29 ×10−5 ×( 6.32× 10−7 m)
2 4.63× 10

= 4.3×10-8 m

Error in mass:

( )
2
( ∆ a1 )
∆ m❑= 3 × m❑
a1

( )
2
( 4.3 ×10−8 ) −16
= 3 −7
×(9.36 ×10 kg)
6.32×10

= 1.90×10-16 kg

Error in Electric Intensity:

∆ E= ( ∆dd + ∆VV ) × E
 ( )
−6
5 ×10 1 4 −1
= −3
+ ×(6.5 ×10 V m )
7.67 ×10 501

= 176 Vm-1

Error in Charge:

∆ q1= ( ∆ E ∆ vr 1
E
+
vr 1
+2
∆ v f 1 ∆ m1
vf1
+
m1
× q1 )
= ( 168
4
+
3.09× 10−6
6.5 ×10 2.57 ×10 −5
+2
6.29 ×10−6 1.9 × 10−19
4.63× 10−5
+
9.36 × 10−16) −19
×(2.18× 10 C )

= 1.31×10-19 C

Terminal Velocity:

∆ v t= ( ∆ m1 ∆ a 1
m1
+
a1
× vt )
= ( 1.91 ×10−16 4.3 ×10−8
9.36 ×10
−16
+
6.32× 10
−7 )
× ( 4.09 ×10 m s )
−5 −1

= 1.12×10-5 ms-1

% error= |( ) |
q 0−e
e
×100

= | ( 1.81× 10−19−1.6 × 10−19 )

1.6 ×10
−19 |
× 100

= 13.12%
Table 3: Table showing the calculated error values for each drop.

Drop ∆ v f ×10-6 ∆ v r×10-6 ∆ a×10-8 ∆m × ∆E ∆ q×10-19 ∆ v t ×10-5

(ms-1) (ms-1) (m) 10-16 (Vm-1) (c) (ms-1)

(kg)

1 6.26 3.09 4.3 1.91 176 1.3 1.12

2 1.38 1.31 7.13 5.91 176 5.23 2.53

3 1.39 4.79 7.16 5.96 176 3.69 2.54

4 6.44 4.66 4.36 1.97 176 1.56 1.14

5 7.63 4.96 4.86 2.53 176 1.92 1.36

REFERENCES

Department of Physics. 2020. PHYS 1224 Introduction to Thermodynamics and Modern

Physics Laboratory Manual. St. Augustine, Trinidad: The University of the West Indies.

Madeline Boudreaux, "Michael Faraday's Contributions to the Discovery of the Electron,"

Sciencing, last modified September 28, 2020, accessed March 7, 2023,
https://sciencing.com/michael-faradays-contributions-to-the-discovery-of-the-electron-
13722956.html.

"George Stoney," Encyclopædia Britannica, last modified December 9, 2019, accessed March
7, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Johnstone-Stoney.

Einstein, Albert. "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." Annalen der Physik 17, no. 10
(1905): 891-921.

Millikan, Robert A. "On the Elementary Electrical Charge and the Avogadro Constant."

Physical Review 2, no. 2 (1913): 109-143