Elementary Charge and Electron: One Entity Two Identities

Our knowledge of electricity is based on two nearly parallel concepts – charge and electron. The charge concept is symmetrical: nature has equal numbers of positive and negative charges playing equivalent roles in atoms. The electron concept has two asymmetries. One, the observable universe has more positive than negative electrons. Two, atoms contain negative- but no positive electrons. Here I propose that charge is static electron and electron is moving charge. That is, resting (electrostatic) and moving (electrodynamic) behaviours exclusively make charge and electron different. The proposal reveals previously unnoticed symmetries in the electron concept and has experimental backing. Faraday, Stoney and Millikan observed charges in static conditions – electrolytes, oil drops, doorknobs etc. In contrast, Thomson and Anderson observed electrons at high speeds in cathode tubes and cloud chambers. Beta decays were initially interpreted to mean existence of electrons in atomic nuclei[i]. Equating ‘charge’ to ‘static electron’ reinstates and validates the interpretation. Brown, L. M. Nuclear structure and beta decay (1932–1933), American Journal of Physics 56, 982 (1988).