Electron is one of the smallest particle you can understood its size by knowing the fact that as we all know that atom is the smallest particle from which the matter is made up of but the electron is that particle with which atom is made of now you get the feel about its size. So lets jump on few following topic to learn some more about it.

DISCOVERY OF ELECTRON

Long before the end of the 19th century, it was well known that applying a high voltage to a gas contained at low pressure in a sealed tube called a gas discharge tube caused electricity to flow through the gas, which then emitted light . Researchers trying to understand this phenomenon found that an unusual form of energy was also emitted from the cathode, or negatively charged electrode; this form of energy was called a cathode ray. And after some research scientist found a particle nature in that ray and give them name electron.

Location of electron in atom

See there are many theory regarding it but some of them are as follows in the early researches a theory come that said electron is lie inside the atom after it a another theory came which said electron lie in the orbits around the atom and after that a theory come which said that electron is lie around the atom like a cloud and that cloud called electron cloud and that theory is the most recent theory.

NATURE OF ELECTRON

The properties of electrons indicate that they have a dual nature. An electron behaves both as a particle and as a wave. An electron has mass and possesses kinetic energy. Hence, it should be a particle, and at the same time, it can be diffracted in the same way as light waves, which are only possible when electrons have a wave nature.

Example to show its particle nature

When a propeller is inserted in between the discharge tube and perform a experiment, applying a high voltage to a gas contained at low pressure in a sealed tube called a gas discharge tube caused electricity to flow through the gas, which then emitted light and that light cause move the propeller that show its particle nature.

WAVE NATURE OF ELECTRON

So first we can show its wave nature by above example as we learn above we get light on the end of discharge tube when , applying a high voltage to a gas contained at low pressure which can show its wave nature.

Another example In 1927 Davisson and Germer observed that, a beam of electrons obtained from a heated tungsten filament is accelerated by using a high positive potential. When this fine beam of accelerated electron is allowed to fall on a large single crystal of nickel, the electrons are scattered from the crystal in different

directions. The diffraction pattern so obtained is similar  to the diffraction pattern obtained by Bragg’s experiment on diffraction of X-rays Since X-rays have wave character, therefore, the electrons must also have wave character associated with them. Moreover, the wave length of the electrons as determined by the diffraction experiments were found to be in agreement with the values calculated from de-Broglie equation.