Elementary charge: Difference between revisions
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Historically the name comes from a period of time before [[Quark|quarks]] were discovered when ''e'' was thought to be the smallest electric charge existing in nature. The discovery of quarks in 1974 showed for the first time that this was not correct and currently the smallest known electric charge is <math>e/3</math> which down-like [[Quark|quarks]] possess. The term '''elementary charge''' when referring to an electron charge is therefore technically a misnomer. However a property of quarks called confinement means that at low energies quarks are bound into colourless, multiple quark states which have charges that are integer multiples of ''e'' and only at high energies, such as top quark decay, do the fractional charges become evident. Thus ''e'' is still the smallest electrical charge that will be typically encountered outside the field of [[Particle Physics|particle physics]]. | Historically the name comes from a period of time before [[Quark|quarks]] were discovered when ''e'' was thought to be the smallest electric charge existing in nature. The discovery of quarks in 1974 showed for the first time that this was not correct and currently the smallest known electric charge is <math>e/3</math> which down-like [[Quark|quarks]] possess. The term '''elementary charge''' when referring to an electron charge is therefore technically a misnomer. However a property of quarks called confinement means that at low energies quarks are bound into colourless, multiple quark states which have charges that are integer multiples of ''e'' and only at high energies, such as top quark decay, do the fractional charges become evident. Thus ''e'' is still the smallest electrical charge that will be typically encountered outside the field of [[Particle Physics|particle physics]]. Current literature continues to refer to ''e'' as the elementary charge although it is now also often—and more properly—referred to as the ''magnitude of the electron charge''<ref>Particle Data Group {{cite journal|author=W.-M. Yao ''et al.'' | title= The Review of Particle Physics | journal=Journal of Physics G | volume=33 | pages=1 |year=2006}} [http://pdg.lbl.gov/2007/reviews/contents_sports.html#constantsetc Table of Physical Constants]</ref>. | ||
Revision as of 03:25, 13 November 2007
The term elementary charge, e refers to the magnitude of the charge on an electron or proton. It was first measured by Robert Millikan in 1909 using his famous oil drop experiment. e is regarded as a fundamental physical constant and the current internationally agreed upon value from CODATA stands at:
Historically the name comes from a period of time before quarks were discovered when e was thought to be the smallest electric charge existing in nature. The discovery of quarks in 1974 showed for the first time that this was not correct and currently the smallest known electric charge is which down-like quarks possess. The term elementary charge when referring to an electron charge is therefore technically a misnomer. However a property of quarks called confinement means that at low energies quarks are bound into colourless, multiple quark states which have charges that are integer multiples of e and only at high energies, such as top quark decay, do the fractional charges become evident. Thus e is still the smallest electrical charge that will be typically encountered outside the field of particle physics. Current literature continues to refer to e as the elementary charge although it is now also often—and more properly—referred to as the magnitude of the electron charge[2].
References
- ↑ CODATA value for the electron charge
- ↑ Particle Data Group W.-M. Yao et al. (2006). "The Review of Particle Physics". Journal of Physics G 33: 1. Table of Physical Constants