Purdue News PhotosPurdue News Photos
1/10/97-- According to recent measurements made by Purdue physicists, an electron may not be a simple point charge, as previously thought. Instead, the particle may be thought of as being at the center of a fuzzy "cloud," as in this artist's conception, where the electromagnetic force increases toward a central core. The "cloud" consists of virtual particles, which wink in and out of existence in pairs - one particle positively charged (light gray), the other negatively charged (dark gray).
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(Graphic courtesy Dennis Harp, Purdue Physics Department.)
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