Question

At the atomic level, charge exists in discrete units. What is the fundamental charge unit called, and what is its value?

Options

• Quantisation of charge; e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C

• Continuous charge; e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁸ C

• Elementary charge; e = 1.6 × 10⁻²⁰ C

• Discrete charge; e = 3.2 × 10⁻¹⁹ C

Answer 1

At the atomic level, charge is quantised, meaning it exists in discrete multiples of the elementary charge e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C. However, at macroscopic scales with enormous numbers of charge carriers, we treat charge as a continuous distribution for practical purposes.