Here's a breakdown:
* Millikan's oil drop experiment: This experiment involved observing tiny oil droplets falling in an electric field. By carefully measuring the droplets' motion and the strength of the electric field, Millikan was able to determine the charge of each droplet. He observed that the charges were always multiples of a fundamental unit of charge, which he identified as the charge of a single electron.
While Millikan's experiment is the most well-known, other scientists also contributed to the determination of the electron's charge:
* Joseph John Thomson (discoverer of the electron): His work on cathode rays provided strong evidence for the existence of the electron and helped establish its properties, including its negative charge.
* George FitzGerald: He suggested using charged droplets to measure the electron's charge, providing the groundwork for Millikan's experiment.
Therefore, while Millikan's oil drop experiment provided the most accurate and definitive measurement of the electron's charge, it was built upon the contributions of several other scientists.
