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Physics

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  • $\begingroup$ No, he knew he was looking at electrons, even though the name hasn't been picked yet. Millikan's experiment tells us what the minimum amount of charge is, and electric fields will tell us which sign that charge is. The magnetic field tells us the mass from these, and just by comparing with ions of various types, it can be shown that the electron is a subatomic material that is way too light to be an ion. He thus knew he had a new thing. He even knew it was a particle, not a wave. His son later proved it was a wave too, though. $\endgroup$
    – naturallyInconsistent
    Commented Jul 20, 2023 at 2:39