Physicists have recognized the electron as an ideal sphere

An electron is an elementary particle responsible for the transfer of electromagnetic interaction. The existing theories explaining the structure of the physical world assume that the electron has an almost ideal spherical shape. However, it is rather difficult to make accurate measurements of this parameter.

The preparation and conduct of the current experiment took about ten years. Scientists worked with ytterbium fluoride molecules. With the help of specially organized lasers, specialists measured the smallest vibrations that the electrons in the molecules made. If this elementary particle was not an ideal sphere, the oscillations would occur in approximately the same way as the oscillations of a poorly balanced top do.

In the course of the experiments, the researchers found out that deviations from an ideally spherical shape in an electron do not exceed 10-28 centimeters. In other words, if you increase the size of an electron to the size of the solar system, then the size of the deviations will be less than the thickness of a hair.

In the future, scientists intend to make even more accurate measurements of the shape of the electron. To do this, the substance under study must be cooled to extremely low temperatures, when the thermal movements in the molecules are very much slowed down, and the parameters of the electron motion must be determined again.