Doing it differently: attempts to improve Millikan’s oil-drop experiment

Abstract

Millikan’s oil-drop experiment is one of the classic experiments from the history of physics.Due to its content (the determination of the elementary charge) it is also among thoseexperiments that are frequently used and discussed in teaching situations. Disappointingly,a review of the educational literature on this experiment reveals that its implementation inteaching situations is not especially successful. Using a collaborative approach, we haveattempted to develop an understanding of the difficulties that students encounter with thisexperiment. In our approach, apart from evaluating students’ lab reports, we usedquestionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Additionally, we have used the historicaldevelopment of the oil-drop experiment as a resource for restructuring the educational useof the experiment, and we have attempted to develop a more thorough understandingof the experiment through an analysis of the data generated in the experimentand its mathematical treatment. As a result, we suggest a different use of theapparatus that appears to result in less frustration of the students as well asa better understanding of the experiment and its difficulties by the students.