The Electronic Controls Used in a Search For Fractional Charges in Mercury Drops

Authors

William Walters
David C. Joyce
Peter C. Abrams
K. R. Koburn
Betty A. Young, Santa Clara UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1982

Publisher

American Institute of Physics

Abstract

At San Francisco State University, we have developed an Automatic Millikan Device (AMI)) for measuring the charge on small drops of Mercury. The device uses a standard atomic physics laboratory Millikan chamber, a piezoelectric driven ink-jet glass dropper, and a laser-photomultiplier system for tracking the motion of the drop. This paper describes the electronic control and error detection system used with the AMO. Signals from this system are sent to a microprocessor which controls the experiment. To this date (Dec 7, 1981), we have measured 175 micrograms of Hg and found no fractional charges in 1.05 x 10²⁰ nucleons.

Comments

Copyright © 1982 American Institute of Physics Publishing. Reprinted with permission.

Recommended Citation

Walters, W., Joyce, D. C., Abrams, P. C., Coburn, K. R., & Young, B. A. (1982). The Electronic Controls Used in a Search For Fractional Charges in Mercury Drops. Journal of Undergraduate Research in Physics, 1(2), 51–55. https://www.spsnational.org/jurp/archive/back-issues/volume-1-number-2