E*lec"tron (?), [NL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Electric.]
(Physics & Chem.) One of those particles, having about one
thousandth the mass of a hydrogen atom, which are projected from the
cathode of a vacuum tube as the cathode rays and from radioactive
substances as the beta rays; -- called also corpuscle. The
electron carries (or is) a natural unit of negative electricity, equal
to 3.4 x 10-10 electrostatic units. It has been detected
only when in rapid motion; its mass, which is electromagnetic, is
practically constant at the lesser speeds, but increases as the
velocity approaches that of light. Electrons are all of one kind, so
far as known, and probably are the ultimate constituents of all atoms.
An atom from which an electron has been detached has a positive charge
and is called a coelectron.
E*lec"tron (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr.
'h`lektron. See Electric.] Amber; also, the
alloy of gold and silver, called electrum.
E*lec"tron (?), [NL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Electric.]
(Physics & Chem.) One of those particles, having about one
thousandth the mass of a hydrogen atom, which are projected from the
cathode of a vacuum tube as the cathode rays and from radioactive
substances as the beta rays; -- called also corpuscle. The
electron carries (or is) a natural unit of negative electricity, equal
to 3.4 x 10-10 electrostatic units. It has been detected
only when in rapid motion; its mass, which is electromagnetic, is
practically constant at the lesser speeds, but increases as the
velocity approaches that of light. Electrons are all of one kind, so
far as known, and probably are the ultimate constituents of all atoms.
An atom from which an electron has been detached has a positive charge
and is called a coelectron.
