The Waves of an Electron¹

Abstract

THE history of the newer physics, as it may be called, is largely the history of the very successful attempts which have been made to explain the facts of the physical universe in terms of electricity. In particular, the natural units of electricity, the electron first isolated as the carrier of the negative charge in the cathode rays, and the more massive proton with its equal positive charge, have been the bricks out of which physicists have tried to build model atoms. But until recently the only properties which could be attributed with certainty to the electron were its mass, 9 x 10^-28 gm., and its charge, -4-77 x lO^-10 electrostatic units. It is indeed possible to calculate a ‘size’ on the assumption that it follows the same laws as a charged metal sphere in a laboratory, but the value found, 3.7 x 10 ^-13, is neither confirmed nor contradicted by any experimental evidence.