Electron

The electron is an elementary particle with negative electric charge and nonzero rest mass. It is a lepton and a constituent of atoms.

Electric charge: A fundamental property of matter that determines electromagnetic interactions. An electron carries the smallest free negative charge observed.
Quantum mechanics: The physical theory describing matter and energy at atomic and subatomic scales. Electron states and measurements follow quantum rather than classical rules.
Electric current: The rate at which electric charge passes through a surface. In many conductors, moving electrons carry the current.
Positron: The electron's antiparticle, with the same mass and opposite electric charge. It mirrors the electron's properties while carrying positive charge.
Lepton: A family of elementary fermions that do not participate in the strong interaction. The electron belongs to the charged-lepton branch of this particle family.
Pauli exclusion principle: The rule that identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state simultaneously. It structures how electrons fill distinct states within atoms.
Semiconductor: A material whose electrical conductivity lies between that of a conductor and an insulator and can be controlled. Electron populations and energy bands enable semiconductor devices.
Proton: A positively charged composite particle found in atomic nuclei. Unlike the electron, it is a massive composite particle made of quarks.
Spin: An intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by quantum particles. The electron has spin one-half, which governs its quantum statistics.
Atomic orbital: A quantum state describing an electron's spatial distribution in an atom. Orbitals describe electron states without treating them as planetary paths.

Linked from 106 pages