Technique of Single-Particle Charge Measurement

Research and development in diverse fields of scientific and engineering interest often require a knowledge of the electric charge on a single macroscopic particle. The methods which have been developed for the determination of particle charge include electric and magnetic field deflection techniques, current measurements, and direct sensing by induced charge effects. Several methods are discussed, and experimental results are given for two of these methods. Charge magnitudes to about 10-17 C are of interest in these studies.