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Glite Dictionary
Millikan

Millikan

1 9.9
An American scientist who measured the electron's charge with the oil-drop experiment
  • proper noun
  • /ˈmɪlɪkən/
: Millikan
  • The physicist Millikan is renowned for conducting the oil drop experiment to measure the charge of the electron.
  • Robert Millikan
  • Millikan's statement
  • Millikan's results

Examples

  • Millikan not only demonstrated that there was a fundamental unit of electrical charge; he also measured it accurately.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The third of 1932's historic discoveries came in August, when Anderson, working under the supervision of Robert Millikan at Caltech, discovered the positron.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Another example in Broad and Wade's book is Robert Andrews Millikan, Caltech's founder, first Nobel Prize-winner, first president, and all-around patron saint.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Robert Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 for his work on the electron.

  • Many students study Millikan's contributions to physics when learning about atomic structure.

Surface Forms

Millikan main

Etymology

Millikan is a family name from English made of mill ('mill') and the ending -kin ('little' or 'family'), so it originally meant 'the miller's family'. So when you see Millikan in physics, it means Robert Millikan, the scientist who measured the electron's charge.