How to Locate an Electron

Finding the location of an electron is, in principle, almost exactly the same as finding the location of a chair, a car or any other physical object. One of the main differences, however, is that you can only find a past location of an electron. Prediction of the position of an electron, according to quantum theory, is only a matter of probability. Read on to learn how to locate an electron.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Read up on quantum theory. Quantum theory is the current reigning theory that describes the behavior of electrons. Since electrons are not visible to the naked eye, it's necessary to have a theoretical understanding of what you're doing when you try to locate an electron.
2. Get a device for illuminating the electron with photons (light). A laser is a good device for this application since it emits coherent, monochromatic (single-color) photons.
3. Illuminate the electron with photons (presumably from a laser). Photons that collide with the electron will be scattered.
4. Use the scattering angles of the photons to reconstruct the position of the electron. This step will give you the location of the electron, but only at a past time. Finding the current exact location of the electron is (theoretically) impossible.
5. Sit back and contemplate the oddities of quantum theory. If you followed this procedure correctly, you found the past position of the electron, but you don't know where it is now. Consider whether you have actually accomplished anything meaningful.

Tips & Warnings

• The accuracy of the location of the electron is partly a function of the frequency of the photons. In doing Step 1, pay particular attention to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
• Unless you have a lot of money, a solid understanding of quantum physics and too much time on your hands, then you probably shouldn't actually try doing this.
• Scientific theories come and go like fashion. Whether or not the above procedure truly locates an electron, and whether or not electrons (as people currently understand them) even exist, are matters yet to be determined.

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