electron

UK/ɪˈlɛk.tɹɒn/US/ɪˈlɛk.tɹɑn/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,426 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: electrons

An electron is the tiny negative particle circling the centre of every atom. A free electron, electron shell, electron microscope.

Electricity is electrons moving through a conductor, and chemistry is almost entirely about which ones an atom will share or give away. An electron microscope uses a beam of them instead of light and so sees things far smaller than any lens could.

Definitions of electron

1nounelectronThe tiny negative particle circling the centre of an atom.B2+
“When an atom loses an electron, it becomes a positively charged ion.”

electron is a particle.

Where it comes from

Coined in 1891 by George Stoney from electric, ultimately Greek elektron, amber, which attracts dust when rubbed.

Blend of electric and ion. electric and ion, coined by George Stoney in 1891, changed by him multiple times from an earlier electrolion and original electrine (used as early as 1874) as the name for the electric charge associated with a univalent ion. Compare electro-, -on. The particle ("corpuscule") was discovered in 1896. The name electrion was proposed for the particle in 1906 but curtailed because Hendrik Lorentz preferred electron.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Science & Space

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electron in the wild

In quantum mechanics, an atomic orbital is a function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom.
Atomic orbital
In electric circuits, the charge carriers are often electrons moving through a wire.
Electric current
For many molecules, the sharing of electrons allows each atom to attain the equivalent of a full valence shell, corresponding to a stable electronic configuration.
Covalent bond
The electron is a subatomic particle whose electric charge is negative one elementary charge.
Electron
The configuration and energy levels of an atom's electrons determine the atom's chemical properties.
Electron

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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