Millikins oil drop experiment 1

Demonstrating the Quantization of Electrical Charge

Millikans Experiment


Objectives of the experiment
To demonstrate that electrical charge is quantized, and to determine the elementary
electron charge by observing the motion of charged oil drops in an electric field.

Introduction
The charge of the electron is one of the most important fundamental constants in nature.
The ratio of the mass to charge of the electron may be readily determined via the
observation of the path of a pre-accelerated electron through a magnetic field. However,
the determination of the charge alone is a little more difficult. The first attempt was
performed by Thomson in 1896, using a cloud chamber, and resulted in a value close to
1.110
-19
Coulombs, but with a large error. The more precise measurements of Millikan
were performed in 1911 in his now famous oil drop experiment.

The apparatus he used is
shown schematically in Fig. 1.

For each oil droplet with a
charge q there is a
gravitational force downwards
(mg), and a buoyancy force
upwards (bv, b is the
buoyancy and v is the terminal
velocity of the oil drop) which are equal when the terminal velocity is reached (i.e. mg =
bv). The equation of motion is thus,

dt
dv
m bv mg = (1)

The buoyancy may be obtained from Stokes law
a b 6 = (2)
where a is the radius of the drop and is the viscosity of air.
The terminal velocity of the oil drop is thus

a
mg
b
mg
v
f
6
= = (3)
Now if an electric field, E, is applied to the two plates shown in Fig. 1, then for a positive
voltage applied to the top plate, there will be a corresponding upward motion of the oil
drop which possesses charge q.

dt
dv
m bv mg qE = (4)
[Note the change in sign of the buoyancy force].
In this instance the terminal velocity is
+/- V




-/+ V
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the Millikan apparatus
Millikins oil drop experiment 2

a
mg Eq
b
mg Eq
v
r
6

= (5)

In Millikans experiment the terminal velocities are achieved rapidly, and only the
motion of the oil drops with terminal velocity is observed. If the oil drops are observed
to move a distance L in times T
f
(fall) and T
r
(rise), then it is possible to solve the
equations (3) and (5) for q.
( )
r f
f
v v
Ev
mg
q + = (6)
This is however expressed in terms of the effective mass of the oil drop moving through
the air, where
) (
3
4
3
air oil
a m = (7)
This can be used in conjunction with equation 3 to calculate an expression for a

g
v
a
air oil
f
) ( 2
9

= (8)
and thus m can be calculated and thus the corresponding charge

g
v
v v
E
q
air oil
f
r f
) (
2
) (
1
9
3

+ = (9)
Noting that the electric field can be expressed in terms of the voltage between the two
plates and their distance, then

g
v
v v
V
d
q
air oil
f
r f
) (
2
) ( 9
3

+ = (10)
The two equations (8) and (10) are required for the rise and fall method for determining
q.
There is a second technique for determining q, which is the float technique. For these
measurements the appropriate equations are;
g
v
a
air oil
f
) ( 2
9

= and
g
v
V
d
q
air oil
f
) (
2
9
3 3

= (11)

You might attempt deriving the latter two equations (11) yourself.

Millikins oil drop experiment 3
Apparatus
The equipment to be used in the measurement is shown in Fig. 2. The Millikan
equipment should be connected to the voltage control system and timer as shown Fig. 3.

Fig. 2. Diagram of the Millikan
experimental apparatus
Fig. 3. The connections and switch functions for the voltage control system and
timer.
Millikins oil drop experiment 4
Make sure the equipment is correctly connected before switching on, if in doubt consult a
demonstrator. The oil atomizer should be filled such that the bent capillary tube stands
about 2 mm in the oil, and the spray nozzle should be positioned such that it points
towards the bore holes in the plastic cover. The oil used has a density of 877 kgm
-3
at 15
o
C, and 871 kgm
-3
at 25
o
C. The capacitor plates have a diameter of 8 cm and a separation
of 6(0.05) mm. The telescope itself is equipped with an eyepiece with a magnification
of 10, and the objective magnification of the telescope is 2(0.05). The telescope is used
to locate the position of the oil drops by measurements against the scale provided. The
length of the micrometer scale is 10 mm, with 0.1 mm graduations.

Procedure
Setting up the equipment
- Turn the lens holder of the micrometer eyepiece until you can clearly see the
micrometer scale.
- If necessary, turn the eyepiece to orient the micrometer scale vertically. For this purpose
you should slightly loosen the fastening screw. Since falling droplets are observed on the
micrometer scale as rising droplets due to the reversion of the image in the microscope,
the scale start (0) should point upward and the scale end should point downward (10).
- Use the knurled knob to push the measuring microscope close to the plastic cover. The
illuminated capacitor plates can be seen at the top and bottom in the circular-viewing
field. The beginning and end of the micrometer scale are at a small distance to the
capacitor plates.

Do not attempt the following without consulting the demonstrator first.

To eliminate disturbing light reflections or to correct the observation region, if you are
not satisfied with the illumination:
- Loosen the fastening screw of the capacitor and move the capacitor.
- You can also adjust the lamp with the help of the adjusting screw (recessed head screw).

Observing oil droplets
- Use the rubber ball to spray oil between the capacitor plates so that oil droplets can be
seen in the entire observation field.
- By moving the measuring microscope, create a plane, in which a selected oil droplet is
clearly seen as light point.

Objective magnification
Due to the objective magnification M, a fall or rise distance s of the oil droplet between
the capacitor plates is represented on the scale section
Ms x =
If the image of an oil droplet moves in the time t on the scale over a distance x, the
velocity of the oil droplet is
t M
x
v

=
The objective magnification is M = 2 quite accurately. For more exact measurements, you
should determine the magnification:
Millikins oil drop experiment 5
- Remove the plate capacitor and put a suitable scale vertically on the base plate.
- Adjust the microscope so that external scale and micrometer scale can be clearly seen
next to one another. By comparing the two scales, determine the exact magnification.
- Then, do not move the eyepiece any more.

Timer/Counter Operation
o Set mode to t
E,F
.
o Press start until corresponding LED is lit
o Cable from clock1 on Millikan control box should be connected to E.
o Cable from clock2 on Millikan control box should be connected to F.
o Zero timer: press 0.
o Times can be read out using button t
E,F
when E LED is lit, first time is given i.e.
time between start of clock and event E. When F LED is list this gives the time
between events E and F.

Fall/rise method
The fall velocity v
f
and the rise velocity v
r
are determined from the fall time t
f
and rise
time t
r
for a pre-selected distance s. The following equations can then be used for the
radius a and the charge q of the droplet (see the introduction).
g
v
a
air oil
f
) ( 2
9

=
g
v
v v
V
d
q
air oil
f
r f
) (
2
) ( 9
3

+ =

- Zero counter press 0.
- First turn switch U and switch t downward.
- Use switch U to turn on the capacitor voltage and adjust it using a rotary potentiometer
so that a selected oil droplet rises.

As soon as the oil droplet is in the upper area of the capacitor:
- Use switch U to turn off the capacitor voltage.
As soon as the oil droplet is next to a pre-selected graduation scale mark:
- Use switch t to start measuring the fall time.
As soon as the oil droplet has fallen over a pre-selected distance:
- Use switch U to turn on the capacitor voltage, to end measurement of the fall time and
start measurement of the rise time.
As soon as the oil droplet has risen over the same pre-selected distance s :
- Use switch t to end time measurement.
- Read fall time, rise time (press button t
E,F
) and capacitor voltage U and record with fall
or rise distance s.

Float Method
The float potential U and the fall speed v are determined from the fall time t for a pre-
selected distance s. The following applies for the radius a and the charge q of the droplet:
g
v
a
air oil
f
) ( 2
9

= and
g
v
V
d
q
air oil
f
) (
2
9
3 3

=
Millikins oil drop experiment 6


- Zero counter press 0.
- First turn switch U and switch t downward.
- Use switch U to turn on capacitor voltage, then adjust it using a rotary potentiometer so
that a selected oil droplet floats.
- Use switch U to turn off the capacitor voltage.
As soon as the oil droplet is next to a selected scale graduation mark:
- Use switch t to start time measurement.
As soon as the oil droplet has fallen over a pre-selected distance:
- Use switch U to turn the capacitor voltage back on and thus stop time measurement.
- Read fall time t and capacitor voltage U and record with fall or rise distance s.



Analysis
Use both methods to deduce the charge and radius of the oil drops. The viscosity of air,
, is 1.82410
-5
Nsm
-2
, and you will need to calculate the density of the air. A plot of the
charge against radius should resemble that shown in Fig. 4.

Cunningham found that there was a small deviation from Stokes equation for the friction
for small oil drops with a radius a (this is the deviation shown for small diameters in Fig.
4) . This results is a modification of the equation for the charge such that
3
1
'

+
=
a
A
q
q
where the constant A takes the value 0.0777610
-6
m at standard pressure and at 25
o
C.
Reanalyse your results using this correction.
t
References
Adapted from Leybold instruction sheets 559 421, 575 451 and 559 411.
Fig 4. Measurements of
the charge and radius of
oil drops.
Millikins oil drop experiment 7
P5.6e