Lab Report

PHYS-381 - EXPERIMENTS IN
MODERN PHYSICS
Experiment No. 3: Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

York College City University of New York

Student Mohammed
Course: PHYS-381
Experiments in Modern
Physics Lab

Jahanzeb

Choudary
Email: m.choudary@me.com

Table of Contents

Contents
Millikan Oil Drop Experiment____________________________________________________1
The Procedure_______________________________________________________________4
Observation and Analysis_______________________________________________________6
Conclusion__________________________________________________________________8
Appendix___________________________________________________________________9

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 1

Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

Introduction
In the middle of the 18th century the first physicists began to examine the general structure of
electricity. Most theories where based on a model with spatially continuous charges. Faraday
was one of the first who discovered hints for discrete elementary charges in his experiments
and years later Stoney and Helmholtz finally declared that any charge consisted of an amount
of elementary charges. In the following years, scientists all over the world tried to find the exact
value of this elementary charge.

The Concept
What Millikan did was to put a charge on a tiny drop of oil, and measure how strong an applied
electric field had to be able to stop the oil drop from falling. Since he could work out the mass
of the oil drop, and he could calculate the force of gravity on one drop, he could then determine
the electric charge that the drop must have. By varying the charge on different drops, he
noticed that the charge was always a multiple of -1.6 x 10 -19 C, the charge on a single
electron. This meant that it was electrons carrying this unit charge.

Theory
Millikan developed a setup which allowed him to make a mass-independent measurement of
this charge. His best result was

e 0=1.5926 ( 17 ) .1019 C Later, more accurate

measurements where performed. Todays literature value

e 0=1.6021829(22).1019 C .

Millikans setup was based on the equilibrium of forces of small charged particles (oil bubbles
in this case) in an electric field (Fig. 1.):

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 2

Figure 1 Milikan Experiment Setup

If the experiment is performed under normal conditions (e.g. in air), four major forces act on the
particle. Coulomb Force and buoyancy are pushing the particle up, and gravitational force and
friction are pushing it down (in case of an particle, still resulting in an upward movement).
Eq.(1)
F +F
G

=F C + F B

The equilibrium leads to an equation for the charge.

3
Eq.(2)
4 r ( Oil Air ) g+18 rv

q=

3U

All relevant quantities are given, or are measurable with the setup, except the radius of the
particle, which must be measured separately by observing the particles free fall. The maximum
velocity then leads to the radius.
Eq.(3)9

r=

2 ( Oil Air )

Millikans measurements lead to the result that in order to get correct values, Stokes Formula
has to be used in a more complicated form than when used to calculate the charge q
(Correction to Stokes Law, Eq. 3).
Eq.(4)
F R=

6 rv

1+ A
r

He developed a graphical analysis to consider this correction with the values measured,
because the exact value of the constant A was unknown. The corresponding equation allows to
get the true value of the elementary charge from a simple extrapolation.
Eq.(4)

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 3

e 2/ 3=e 2/0 3 1+ A

By plotting the measured values for e over 1/r , the elementary charge can be read from the
resulting line and its intercept point with the y-axis. However, this method is still an
approximation, because the correction of Stokes Law has to be taken into account for the
radius as well.

Pg. 4

AppendixAppendix

The Procedure
Millikans oil drop experiment was simple enough. It was performed originally by the Robert A.
Millikan in 1909. He measured the size of charge on a single electron with the help of an oil
drop. The apparatus of oil drop experiment consist of an atomizer. This atomizer helped to
spray tiny droplets of oil and these oil droplets can be viewed by a short focal distance
telescope. He used two plates as cathode and anode in a chamber with a dc supply. He
expected that because of friction between oil and nozzle, small oil droplets would pick up some
unknown number of electrons.
When oil drops fall through the hole in the upper charged plate, the chamber is illuminated with
the help of X-rays in the bottom chamber. It caused the air to ionize. As the oil droplets
traverses through the air, the electrons accumulated over the droplets with negative charge.
Because of dc supply in the chamber, a voltage is applied.
Millikan also controlled the speed of motion charged droplets altering the voltage over the
plates. Even drop can be suspended in air by adjusting the applied voltage. He observed and
noticed the effect of varying voltage over droplets.

Figure 2 Milikan Oil Drop Experiment Setup

Pg. 5

AppendixAppendix

Millikan use a chamber with an electrical field inside it.

Tiny droplets of oil can fall through air in between two oppositely charged
metal plates.

Positively charged metal plate has a hole parallel to the whole of chamber
allowing the oil droplets to fall into chamber.

X - rays pass into the apparatuses & at the same time the speed of oil
droplets are measured by using a special telescope/ microscope.
X - rays force molecules of air inside the chamber to ionize, then the the
ions which are charged positively and negatively stick to the oil droplets.
Then negatively charged oil droplets travel towards the positively charged
plate.

The telescope/microscope helps to measure the speed,

strength of electric field & density of oil drops.

Finally, Millikan calculated the magnitude of the charge of the

oil droplets,

so, the smallest value he obtained was

1.602 x1019

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 6

Observation and Analysis

The Millikan Experiment is a classical way to observe the discrete composition of any electric
charge and to determine the elementary charge. In our setup, we used small, charged oil drops
between two capacitor plates. The voltage at the capacitor was between 200 V and 400 V. The
error of the time measurement was approximately 0.5 s.

Temp.

Milikan Oil Drop Experiment

Data
Oil
886
21C
kg/m3
7.63x10-

Voltage

437V -

Density
Distance
of Fall
Plate

Pressur

450V
76.01 cm

- Hg

Seperati

Coeffici

1.81x10-

Accelerati

9.81

ant of

5 Ns/m2

on due to

m/s2

m
4.71x10m

on

gravity

Viscosit
y of Air
Rise

Observation
Radius
Mass of

Fall

Drop

Charge of
Drop

3.818

8.046

Drop 1
7.274E-

3.665

7.626

07
7.482E-

15
1.554E-

1.004E-18

3.981

7.048

07
7.798E-

15
1.76E-15

1.022E-18

3.747

6.833

07
7.926E-

1.848E-

1.094E-18

6.956

07
7.852E-

15
1.797E-

1.092E-18

07

15

3.663

1.428E-

9.305E-19

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 7
3.725

6.69

8.014E-

1.91E-15

1.12E-18

4.153

6.711

07
8.001E-

1.901E-

1.043E-18

3.8

6.853

07
7.914E-

15
1.839E-

1.081E-18

3.958

6.227

07
8.321E-

15
2.138E-

1.154E-18

5.979

07
8.5E-07

15
2.279E-

1.208E-18

3.914

15
3.8424

Average
7.908E-

1.845E-

1.075E-18

07
15
Standard Deviation
0.1574 0.601204
3.559E2.471E-

7.905E-20

464

6.8969

08

16

There were a total of 5 Runs taken for the experiment with margin of error of about >25%. The
possible reason as to why the margin of error was high, please proceed to the conclusion
section. For a complete set of data please refer to the Appendix section.
A histogram was plotted to get the error criteria of the experiment.

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 8
Histogram

Occurances

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
0.15x^2 - 0.46x + 1.03
1 f(x) = 0x^6 - 0x^5 + 0x^4 - 0.02x^3 +Histogram
Polynomial (Histogram)
0.5
0

Observed Charge (C)

Pg. 9

AppendixAppendix

Conclusion
The setup of the Millikan Experiment uses macroscopic elements to measure a microscopic
quantity. As a logical result, the correct calibration of the used components is essential to get
accurate data. Our setup didnt fulfill this condition in every respect. The capacitor has to be
exactly orthogonal to the direction of the gravity force, which was not possible with the simple
setup we used. Our results show a nearly chaotic distribution instead of discrete charge levels.
Another reason for this lies in the different charge of the oil drops. Some of them where
charged negatively and others positively. Sometimes, we observed collisions of different drops.
Therefore, it cant be ruled out that collisions happened we did not notice. Indications for this
can be found in the first table, where, for example, one drop changed its number of elementary
charges from 4 to 1. Additionally, we observed chaotic movement to the left or right and even
movement both up and down during one measurement. This might be explained by the
influence of other drops, which carried opposite charge and came close to the observed drops.
The observation itself was difficult as well. Sometimes we lost the drop during the
measurement or the large number of other drops led to confusion. Therefore, it is possible that
a drop we considered as one, was another one instead. The error of each data point in the final
calculation of the elementary charge doesnt consider the systematical errors described above.
Therefore, we determined the worst fit from the variance of our values. The result was a
compatible value with an error of about 25%.
Although our measurement failed to clearly show the discrete composition of the electric
charge, the setup could be improved to provide better results. The orientation the capacitor
could be checked with a simple mechanics level and the observation could be improved by
using cameras and a computer supported measurement system. Another important aspect is
the number of observed oil drops. We needed three hours to measure 32 drops. A setup
modified as suggested might be capable to measure 34 times more. Millikan himself for
example was already capable to observe more than 500 different drops.

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 10

Appendix
Temp.
Voltage
Pressur
e
Coeffici
ant of
Viscosit
y of Air

Rise

Milikan Oil Drop Experiment

Data
Oil
886
21C
Density kg/m3
437V Distanc
7.63x10450V
e of Fall 4 m
Plate
76.01
4.71x10Seperati 3
cm - Hg
m
on
Accelerat

1.81x10- ion due

5 Ns/m2 to
gravity

Fall

3.818

8.046

3.665

7.626

3.981

7.048

3.747

6.833

3.663

6.956

3.725

6.69

4.153

6.711

3.8

6.853

3.958

6.227

3.914

5.979

9.81
m/s2

Observation
Mass of Charge of
Radius
Drop
Drop
Drop 1
7.274E- 1.428E9.305E07
15
19
7.482E- 1.554E1.004E07
15
18
7.798E1.76E1.022E07
15
18
7.926E- 1.848E1.094E07
15
18
7.852E- 1.797E1.092E07
15
18
8.014E1.91E07
15 1.12E-18
8.001E- 1.901E1.043E07
15
18
7.914E- 1.839E1.081E07
15
18
8.321E- 2.138E1.154E07
15
18
2.279E1.208E8.5E-07
15
18

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 11

3.8424
0.1574
464

2.128
3.505
3.544
2.853
3.273
3.804
3.54
4.499
3.707
4.08
3.868

3.6673
0.4470
764

2.609
2.489
2.529

Average
7.908E- 1.845E6.8969
07
15
Standard Deviation
0.60120 3.559E- 2.471E48
08
16
Drop 2
9.715E- 3.403E4.627
07
15
1.211E- 6.588E3.025
06
15
1.193E- 6.308E3.111
06
15
1.034E- 4.104E4.103
06
15
1.027E- 4.023E4.156
06
15
9.077E- 2.775E5.272
07
15
1.212E- 6.608E3.019
06
15
1.16E- 5.798E3.285
06
15
9.734E- 3.423E4.61
07
15
1.25E- 7.248E2.844
06
15
1.081E- 4.691E3.765
06
15
Average
1.105E- 5.157E3.719
06
15
Standard Deviation
0.80564 1.166E- 1.547E07
07
15
Drop 3
7.101E- 1.329E8.422
07
15
6.966E- 1.254E8.735
07
15
8.91 6.893E- 1.216E-

1.075E18
7.905E20
2.265E18
2.573E18
2.484E18
2.098E18
1.915E18
1.388E18
2.567E18
2.103E18
1.61E-18
2.579E18
1.941E18
2.126E18

4.24E-19
1.178E18
1.186E18
1.153E-

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 12

2.517
2.565
2.439
2.756
2.436
2.614
2.723

2.5677
0.1093
425

3.375
3.348
3.259
3.485
3.553
3.688
3.58
3.701
3.816
3.663

07
15
7.151E- 1.357E8.31
07
15
7.258E- 1.419E8.079
07
15
6.896E- 1.217E8.902
07
15
7.014E1.28E8.622
07
15
7.029E- 1.289E8.586
07
15
6.757E- 1.145E9.252
07
15
7.028E- 1.288E8.588
07
15
Average
7.009E1.28E8.6406
07
15
Standard Deviation
0.33369 1.426E- 7.802E95
08
17
Drop 4
1.45E- 1.131E2.132
06
14
1.428E- 1.081E2.196
06
14
1.416E- 1.055E2.231
06
14
1.383E9.81E2.338
06
15
1.378E9.72E2.352
06
15
1.36E- 9.326E2.416
06
15
1.392E- 1.001E2.307
06
14
1.365E- 9.434E2.398
06
15
1.421E- 1.064E2.218
06
14
2.464 1.346E- 9.047E-

18
1.224E18
1.235E18
1.187E18
1.108E18
1.223E18
1.09E-18
1.122E18
1.171E18
5.088E20
3.869E18
3.752E18
3.725E18
3.437E18
3.387E18
3.236E18
3.453E18
3.26E-18
3.528E18
3.173E-

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 13

3.554
3.94
4.596
4.685
4.544
4.848
4.697
4.741
4.918

4.4186
0.5034
239

7.702
8.422
7.709
7.628
8.268
8.356
6.954
7.651

06
15
1.332E8.77E2.514
06
15
1.389E- 9.954E2.316
06
15
1.43E- 1.084E2.191
06
14
1.408E- 1.035E2.258
06
14
1.382E- 9.791E2.341
06
15
1.387E- 9.895E2.325
06
15
1.429E- 1.082E2.194
06
14
1.401E1.02E2.28
06
14
1.424E- 1.071E2.208
06
14
Average
1.393E- 1.004E2.3091
06
14
Standard Deviation
0.10963 3.327E- 7.087E11
08
16
Drop 5
5.866E- 7.493E12.079
07
16
5.499E- 6.171E13.636
07
16
5.603E- 6.527E13.167
07
16
5.74E7.02E12.581
07
16
5.486E- 6.128E13.696
07
16
5.768E- 7.123E12.467
07
16
5.776E- 7.152E12.436
07
16
13.959 5.431E- 5.944E-

18
3.14E-18
3.314E18
3.357E18
3.216E18
3.11E-18
3.07E-18
3.328E18
3.166E18
3.255E18
3.213E18
9.799E20
4.035E19
3.389E19
3.706E19
3.9E-19
3.413E19
3.722E19
4.181E19
3.52E-19

AppendixAppendix

Pg. 14

8.101
8.272

7.9063
0.4595
672

07
16
5.552E- 6.352E13.392
07
16
5.454E- 6.021E13.847
07
16
Average
5.618E- 6.593E13.126
07
16
Standard Deviation
0.68107 1.572E- 5.568E61
08
17

3.534E19
3.376E19
3.678E19
2.834E20