electron: Quick Facts

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Nov. 12, 2026

News •

A hidden limit of space and time could unlock electronics 100,000 times faster • Nov. 7, 2026, 6:35 PM ET (Science Daily)

Discord is ditching Electron and its new app uses less RAM • Nov. 5, 2026, 6:39 AM ET (The Verge)

Electrical guardrails for charge carriers: A new approach to harness graphene for solar cells • Oct. 29, 2026, 7:20 PM ET (Phys.org)

An 'electron waiting room' helps blue titanium dioxide hold light energy longer • Oct. 26, 2026, 10:20 AM ET (Phys.org)

Facts

Also Known As	negative electron

Photos and Videos

Bohr model of a fluorine atom showing a central cluster of red and yellow spheres for protons and neutrons, with blue electrons orbiting in two rings.

A diagram showing atomic energy levels and electron orbitals, with labeled boxes for s, p, d, and f orbitals from levels 1 to 7, and arrows indicating the order of electron filling. Some higher orbitals are shaded to show they are not occupied by ground-state electrons.

electron density functions for four hydrogen atom states

Diagram showing electron density shapes for atomic orbitals: A spherical s orbital at the top left, and three dumbbell-shaped p orbitals oriented along the x, y, and z axes below, each with labeled axes.

Feynman diagram

Diagram comparing atomic structure models: on the left, the Bohr model shows electrons orbiting a nucleus in labeled energy levels; on the right, wave mechanics depict electron wave patterns around the nucleus.

Feynman diagram

A diagram showing an X-ray photon colliding with an electron, causing the electron to scatter and the photon to emerge with a longer wavelength, illustrating the Compton effect.

electrons and positrons in a bubble chamber

Computer-generated diagram showing particle tracks from a proton-antiproton collision at the center of the UA1 detector at CERN, with labeled paths for electron and positron.

Illustration of an atom showing a central nucleus with multiple electrons orbiting in concentric shells, representing electron arrangement in atoms.

The Structure of an Atom Explained

Investigate varying electron configurations in electron shells around an atom's nucleus

Why is carbon called the element of life?

View an animation explaining how small things like electrons and protons can behave like particles and sometimes like waves

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Topics

conduction electron electron pair magnetization electron photoelectron primary electron recoil electron secondary electron solvated electron fast electron electron correlation molecule quark neutrino neutron proton muon tau radiation chemical bonding chemical element

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Key People

P.A.M. Dirac

P.A.M. Dirac

English physicist

J.J. Thomson

J.J. Thomson

British physicist

Louis-Victor de Broglie

Louis de Broglie

French physicist

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Richard Henderson

British biologist

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Jacques Dubochet

Swiss biophysicist

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Joachim Frank

German-American biochemist

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Henry Way Kendall

American physicist

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Hans Georg Dehmelt

American physicist

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Polykarp Kusch

American physicist

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John H. Van Vleck

American physicist and mathematician

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George Johnstone Stoney

Irish physicist

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Arnold Sommerfeld

German physicist

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Richard C. Tolman

American physicist

Model of a molecule. Atom, Biology, Molecular Structure, Science, Science and Technology. Homepage 2010 arts and entertainment, history and society

Science Quiz

Periodic Table of the elements concept image (chemistry)

Facts You Should Know: The Periodic Table Quiz