Scientists Calculate Most Precise Measurement of Electron's Mass 59
sciencehabit writes "A team of physicists has produced the most precise electron mass measurement ever made. Instead of trying to measure the mass directly, the researchers bound a single electron to a bare carbon nucleus and placed the resulting atom in a uniform electromagnetic field called a Penning trap. The team's new measurement is 13 times more precise than previous efforts, with an uncertainty of just 0.03 parts per billion. The group's precise result will help physicists more accurately calculate the fine-structure constant, an important value in tests of the standard model of particle physics, which shapes our understanding of the basic building blocks of the universe."
Rough measure... (Score:5, Funny)
...Slightly larger than a particle of commons sense, which is in such short supply these days.
Re:So what's the mass then? (Score:4, Funny)
1
The unit is SE, for Standard Electron
Re:So what's the mass then? (Score:4, Funny)
They have to run the test again. One of the researchers was looking at the electron when they took the measurement.
Re:DOI not found. (Score:5, Funny)
I'm getting a DOI not found for the paper from TFS, the DOI being 10.1038/nature13026.
Does anyone know the correct identifier?
So, the DOI is precise and you're asking if it's accurate? :-)