Question

A negative oil droplet is held motionless in a millikan oil drop experiment. What happens if the switch is opened?

Answer 1

In Millikan oil drop experiment, when the switch is opened and by altering supply the charge of electron is determined.

Explanation:

Millikan's oil drop experiment is held to determine the terminal velocity and charge of the oil drop.

Firstly without any supply of voltage when an oil drop is sprinkled and these droplets gather electrons together and gives negative charge as they pass through air.

By applying and altering voltage applied on the plates, drop can be suspended in air. Millikan observed one drop after another, varying the voltage and noting the effect. After many repetitions he concluded that charge could assume only certain fixed values.

After conducting many times he concluded 1.602176487 ×10−19 C as the charge of an electron.