Millikan oil-drop experiment

In 1910, Millikan succeeded in measuring the electron charge for the first time with a very sensitive experiment.
In this experiment, electrically charged oil droplets remained suspended in the air under the influence of a force that balanced the electric field applied between the plates of a capacitor and the gravitational force.
From the equation , the electric charge of each droplet could be calculated by measuring the potential difference and masses.
When Millikan listed these electric charges from smallest to largest, he showed that they were multiples of a basic unit of charge, and from there he determined the electric charge as $e = 1.65 \times 10^{-9}~C$ (Today's value is $e = 1.602 \times 10^{-9}~C$ ).

Example py-file: Millikan oil-drop experiment by Least-Square Approximation. Gaussian elimination & back substitution. Pivoting. mylsa_millikan.py

**Figure 7.11:** Millikan oil-drop experiment.