Electrons

Characterization

Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, elementary particles that do not interact with the strong nuclear force. Electrons are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no known components or substructure. An electron's mass is approximately ⁠1/1836⁠ that of a proton. Quantum mechanical properties of the electron include an intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of half the reduced Planck constant, i.e. ⁠ħ/2⁠. Being fermions, no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state, according to the Pauli exclusion principle. Like all elementary particles, electrons exhibit properties of both particles and waves. For example, electrons can collide like particles with other particles and can also be diffracted like light waves. The wave properties of electrons are easier to observe with experiments than those of other particles like neutrons and protons because electrons have a lower mass and hence a longer de Broglie wavelength for a given energy.