electron

Definitions

electr- (from ēlektron, amber) + -on (a particle suffix). The carrier of electric charge, named after the amber whose static crackle first revealed the force. So the name of this tiny particle is literally the ancient Greek word for fossilized tree resin.

Why It Means This

The word neatly closes a 2,500-year loop. The Greeks named amber ēlektron; in 1600 that gave us "electric"; in 1891 physicist G. J. Stoney took ēlektron again to name the unit of charge, before the particle itself was even confirmed (1897). The thing that makes amber crackle turned out to be a swarm of these particles — so naming them "amber" was, in hindsight, exactly right.

Common Collocations

• 1.free electron自由电子
• 2.flow of electrons电子流
• 3.electron microscope电子显微镜
• 4.electron shell电子壳层

Example Sentences

• 1.

  An electric current is simply a flow of electrons through a wire.

• 2.

  When an atom loses an electron, it becomes positively charged.