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Electrons are round!

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TimFox:
In lieu of a model (for systems too small or too large for direct observation) that gives quantitative results which can be compared with experiment, one could use the method used by Muppet Laboratories (on an ancient episode of The Muppet Show).
https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/The_Germ
Since germs are too small for humans to examine directly, instead of using a microscope to visualize the germ the lab used a drop of "germ enlarger" to increase the size of the germ to roughly human size, whereupon it decided to examine Beaker, the long-suffering lab assistant.

Njk:

--- Quote from: TimFox on August 13, 2023, 11:46:45 pm ---Once again, if electricity “hugs the surface” of a wire, then why does the DC conductance (reciprocal of resistance) scale with the cross-sectional area, not the circumference?

--- End quote ---
Let's keep in simple: because when enough time is provided, the electricity penetrates inside, to make more intimate bond with the wire.

TimFox:

--- Quote from: Njk on August 14, 2023, 03:57:05 pm ---
--- Quote from: TimFox on August 13, 2023, 11:46:45 pm ---Once again, if electricity “hugs the surface” of a wire, then why does the DC conductance (reciprocal of resistance) scale with the cross-sectional area, not the circumference?

--- End quote ---
Let's keep in simple: because when enough time is provided, the electricity penetrates inside, to make more intimate bond with the wire.

--- End quote ---

Even simpler:  at DC the charge carriers move through the entire cross section of the conductor.

gnuarm:

--- Quote from: TimFox on July 07, 2023, 06:42:25 pm ---Don't rely on the headline.
The actual research result involved an upper limit on the dipole moment of the electron.
"Roundness" is not a real technical term in particle physics.

--- End quote ---

I'm confused.  How could the electron have a dipole moment?  It consists of no constituent parts.  It is a primitive particle.  To have a dipole moment, it would need two opposite charges, separated by a distance.  Is someone proposing the electron is not primitive?  Or do I misunderstand what a dipole moment is?

TimFox:

--- Quote from: gnuarm on August 14, 2023, 04:07:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: TimFox on July 07, 2023, 06:42:25 pm ---Don't rely on the headline.
The actual research result involved an upper limit on the dipole moment of the electron.
"Roundness" is not a real technical term in particle physics.

--- End quote ---

I'm confused.  How could the electron have a dipole moment?  It consists of no constituent parts.  It is a primitive particle.  To have a dipole moment, it would need two opposite charges, separated by a distance.  Is someone proposing the electron is not primitive?  Or do I misunderstand what a dipole moment is?

--- End quote ---

In the basic models, the electron’s dipole moment is zero, but more complicated models suggest a very small moment.  Recent experiments are looking for a tiny moment to test these theories, which could indicate a less primitive particle.  In the popular press, this was called “roundness”.
When looking for very small possible effects such as this, a negative result is usually expressed as an “upper limit”:  the effect must be smaller than this value.

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