向原子领域进发二十世纪初,物理学处于向原子领域进发的新时期,一大批物理实验起了先导的作用。在这批实验中,油滴实验具有重要价值。它是美国杰出物理学家密立根(R·A·Millikan,1868—1953)为了测定电子的电荷e,而创造设计的。它不仅精确地给出了e值的大小,显示了电结构的量子性,而且也进一步为探求其它基本粒子的存在和性质,提出 In the early twentieth century, physics was in a new era that started toward the atomic field. A large number of physics experiments played a leading role. In these experiments, oil drop experiments have important value. It was designed by R. A. Millikan, the eminent physicist in the United States, to measure the charge e of electrons. It not only gives the exact value of e, but also shows the quantum nature of the electrical structure, and further explores the existence and properties of other elementary particles