Millikan's Published and Unpublished Data on Oil Drops

Franklin, Allan

doi:10.2307/27757478

Cited by 104 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A well-written summary of the Millikan experiment based primarily on Holton (1978) and Millikan's autobiography is provided in Crease (2003). Defences of Millikan's ethics in reporting on his work in measuring the electronic charge are given by Franklin (1981) and Goodstein (2001). Segerstrale (1995) reviews interpretations of Millikan's work that are either sympathetic to him or accuse him of scientiWc misconduct.…”

Section: Discussion Of Historical Aspects Of the Millikan Oil Drop Ementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Identifying and Addressing Student Difficulties with the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

Klassen

2007

Sci & Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Millikan oil drop experiment has been characterized as one of the 'most beautiful' physics experiments of all time and, certainly, as one of the most frustrating of all the exercises in the undergraduate physics laboratory. A literature review reveals that work done on addressing student diYculties in performing the oil drop experiment has, to date, not achieved a signiWcant measure of success. The historical background of the oil drop experiment is well established in the literature from the perspective of historians of science, but not so from the perspective of teachers and students of science. A summary of historical details surrounding the original experiment suitable for use in revising the instructional approach is presented. Both Millikan and his graduate student, Fletcher, are featured with the view to emphasizing details that humanize the protagonists and that are likely to raise student interest. The issue of the necessary reliance on presuppositions in doing speculative research is raised, both from the historical account and from the insights of university physics students who heard the historical account and performed the experiment. DiYculties current students have in performing the experiment are discussed from the perspective of Hodson (Stud Sci Educ 22:85-142, 1993) framework and the students' own observations. Last, further historical materials are outlined that may be used to encourage student insight into the fundamental nature of electricity. It is proposed that these aspects are essential as a basis for identifying and addressing student diYculties with the Millikan oil drop experiment.

show abstract

Section: Discussion Of Historical Aspects Of the Millikan Oil Drop Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The result was a vigorous war of words between Ehrenhaft and Millikan in the journals over whose methods and conclusions were correct. The controversy between Millikan and Ehrenhaft has been exhaustively studied, analysed, and debated in the literature (Holton 1988;Goodstein 2001;Franklin 1981;Niaz 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying and Addressing Student Difficulties with the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

Klassen

2007

Sci & Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These data are consistent with the results of persistent selfconfidence in psychological research to assess the subjective probability distributions. Awareness of these biases can help in the interpretation of the measurement accuracy, as well as providing a basis for improving the evaluation of measurement uncertainty [8].…”

Section: Preliminariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plank’s Constant: Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainty

Menin¹,

Expert²

2018

NHMP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In this article, we present a new metric called the comparative uncertainty, according to which the least achievable relative uncertainty is calculated when measuring the Planck constant. To calculate the comparative uncertainty, information theory is used. The optimizing criterion is the number of quantities considered in the model. Its calculation is possible due to the fact that any model contains a certain amount of information about the object under study. Comparative uncertainty can be verified by field trials or computer simulations within a specified range of changes of the Planck constant. The concept of introduced uncertainty is universal and can be recommended for estimating the accuracy of measurements in the study of physical phenomena and technological processes. Examples of application of the proposed approach are discussed.

show abstract

“…Although Millikan's published work dealt with the results from work done with the oil drops, Millikan and his group had done the same investigations with glycerine and mercury. Evaporation issues were only the first 31 See also Franklin (1981), Barnes et al (1996), and Goodstein (2001). Also see Niaz (2005) for an appraisal of the studies of Holton, Franklin, Barnes et al and Goodstein. Observation Versus Experiment: An Adequate Framework for… 83 of many obstacles they had to overcome to arrive at a working system, including inter alia: temperature within the chamber affecting viscosity of the air, allowing for the evaporation of the oil (as well as glycerine and mercury)-however minimal, the motion of the air inside the chamber, the fluctuation of the charge applied by the battery source (Franklin 1981).…”

Section: Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation Versus Experiment: An Adequate Framework for Analysing Scientific Experimentation?

Malik

2016

J Gen Philos Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Observation and experiment as categories for analysing scientific practice have a long pedigree in writings on science. There has, however, been little attempt to delineate observation and experiment with respect to analysing scientific practice; in particular, scientific experimentation, in a systematic manner. Someone who has presented a systematic account of observation and experiment as categories for analysing scientific experimentation is Ian Hacking. In this paper, I present a detailed analysis of Hacking's observation versus experiment account. Using a range of cases from various fields of scientific enquiry, I argue that the observation versus experiment account is not an adequate framework for delineating scientific experimentation in a systematic manner.

show abstract

Millikan's Published and Unpublished Data on Oil Drops

Cited by 104 publications

References 4 publications

Identifying and Addressing Student Difficulties with the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

Identifying and Addressing Student Difficulties with the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment

Plank’s Constant: Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainty

Observation Versus Experiment: An Adequate Framework for Analysing Scientific Experimentation?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About