Electrons Are Extremely Round, a New Measurement Confirms
Science News | 7/6/2023 | Emily ConoverA new measurement confirms the subatomic particle’s spherical shape to a record level of exactness, physicists report in the July 7 Science.
That near-perfect roundness deepens the mystery behind how the universe came to be filled with matter as opposed to its counterpart, antimatter. Any asymmetry in the electron’s shape, namely the distribution of the particle’s electric charge, would point to a related asymmetry in the laws of nature, one that could explain this feature of the cosmos.
The measurement — of a property known in physicist-speak as the electric dipole moment of the electron — is twice as precise as the previous best measurement of the electron’s shape (SN: 10/17/18).
“I don’t think Guinness tracks this, but if they did, we’d have a new world record,” says physicist Tanya Roussy of the University of Colorado Boulder. The new measurement is so precise that, if an electron were the size of Earth, any asymmetry in its shape would have to be on a scale smaller than an atom.
To gauge the particle’s shape, Roussy and colleagues looked at whether electrons pivoted in an electric field. If electrons weren’t round but slightly egg-shaped, an electric field would exert a torque on them, much as gravity topples an egg standing on its end.
To see that torque, the team looked for changes in the energy levels of electrically charged molecules of hafnium fluoride. Any torque on the electrons would give the molecules different energy levels depending on which direction the “egg” was oriented relative to an electric field. The researchers found no difference in the molecules’ energy levels, confirming the electron’s roundness.
Hafnium? What about hafnium-nots? Is there no Hefnium?
And frankly, Mandrake, adding fluoride to hafnium sounds like a commie plot.
…they are being renamed as “Nadlers”.
… any calculation involving squares will be invalid…
Except for the Higgs Boson, of course.
Obviously…
No one told me there’d be math.
Then I’m pretty sure that makes the Higgs Boson particle extremely square.
…9-Volt batteries are not optimally shaped for highest capacity…
… so, I can put them on my tongue with no unpleasant effects?
Shockingly. yes…
I can hardly wait for Kamala to explain this to us…
“Yes, electrons are round, just like Venn diagrams. Electrons see themselves as they can be, unburdened by what they have been, due to the significance of the passage of time. And the wheels on the yellow school bus go round and round, and most of America thinks I’m round the bend. Mayor Brown once took a Viagra, and had an electron lasting four hours. Yes, my running mate and I got 81 million votes. My aides think I need to fire another speechwriter. Cackle, cackle, cackle.”
… physicists may finally be able to get a round tuit…
You have won the coveted “Wet T-Shirt Contest Award” for this thread.
What were the scientists looking for again?
Electrons Are Extremely Round. So …
they cannot be confused with Elections.
I guess that means you can’t “fix” electrons.
Well, at least, the courts will see to it that they won’t be charged.
Electrons Are Extremely Round. So …
avoid spilling them on slippery slopes.
And you wonder why the protons are always teasing them.
Electrons are round? In principal, I’ve never been so uncertain about anything else in my life.
Unless of course we’re talking about how to spell principle.
Pretty unclear on that too apparently.
Electrons Are Extremely Round. So …
that’s just the way they roll.
Electrons Are Extremely Round. So …
It makes it hard for them to take the edge off after work.
…Charlie Brown should have only been awarded second place at the science fair for his last minute Roundest Thing display. Tanya Roussy is the Lucy’s football of happiness.