Author(s)

Yan Cai, Dianxu Ma

Corresponding Author

Yan Cai

Abstract

Starting from Millikan's oil drop experiment, this paper points out the problems existing in the current basic charge determination method, that is, the viscosity coefficient of air is not corrected and the influence of air buoyancy is ignored. In this paper, after adding these two factors, the expressions of the basic charge and air viscosity coefficient are deduced. Through actual measurement and calculation, the results show that the error of the basic charge is within 2%, and the experimental value is relatively close to the theoretical value in line with expectations. The error between the measured value of air viscosity coefficient and the theoretical reference value is within 4%.

Keywords

Viscosity coefficient, Millikan's oil drop experiment, Basic charge, Air buoyancy