Millikan Oil Drop Simulation

Physics | Modern Physics

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General Aim of Millikan Oil Drop Simulation

To verify the quantization of the electric charge in the millikan oil drop experiment virtual lab.

Method of Millikan Oil Drop Simulation

Oil Drop Method in the millikan simulation.

Learning Objectives (ILOs)

  • By the end of millikan oil drop simulation, student will be able to:

  • Explain the effect of the electric field on the motion of charged particles within it through millikan oil drop experiment simulation.
  • Analyze the motion of charged oil drop within an electric field in terms of the different factors affecting its motion in the oil drop experiment.
  • Demonstrate that electric charge only comes in discrete units – “the quantization of charge”.
  • Measure the intrinsic charge of the electron (the smallest discrete unit of charge).

Theoretical Background / Context

  • Oil drops are sprayed into a region between two plates where an electric field is applied. 
  • The oil drops acquire some charge from an ionizing source. Thus the oil drop’s motion between the plates is affected by its mass and the amount of charge it has acquired from the ionizing radiation.
  •  The motion of the charge is controlled by the value of the applied electric field and its polarity, thus it may fall, rise, or even remain stationary between the plates.

Principle of Work

In The Millikan Oil Drop Experiment Lab:

  • By measuring the fall and rise speed of the oil drops in the presence of the electric field for oil drops, we can determine the amount of charge it has acquired through the Millikan oil drop simulation.
  • Hence, it can be proved that the amount of charge carried by each drop is an integer multiple of the electron charge, as Millikan oil drop experiment explained.

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