Introduction

            An electron is a fundamental subatomic particle that makes up the atom along with protons and neutrons, which together make up all visible matter. Fundamental means that as far as we know, the particle is not made up of any smaller particles. G. Johnstone Stoney is generally credited with introducing the concept of the electron in 1874, and naming it twenty years later. However, it was J. J. Thompson who discovered in 1887 at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University that it was a subatomic particle.
            The electron carries a negative charge, and often orbits an atom’s nucleus due to the binding electromagnetic force. Electrons that are not bound can be manipulated to create electric currents, which play a big role in our day-to-day life, as they are responsible for artificial lighting, computers, common clocks, radios, and so on. In other words, our understanding of electrons and electricity is crucial to advances in technology and other important fields.
            The electron carries a mass of about one million millionths the mass of a speck of dust, and it is this value that I attempted to find in my project.