How did Millikan's oil drop experiment lead to quantum nature of electric charge?

Millikan's oil drop experiment proved that electric charge is quantized.

At the time, there was still great debate whether electric charge was continuous or not.

Millikan believed that there was a smallest unit of charge, and he set out to prove it.

This was the big result of the oil drop experiment.

That he could also determine the charge of the electron was a secondary benefit.

This was probably one of the most significant experiments ever carried out.

Explanation:

d eras and periods

what experimental evidence led scientists to change from the previous model to this one?

a few of the positive particles aimed at a gold foil seemed to bounce back.

the colors of light emitted from heated atoms had very specific energies.

experiments with water vapor showed that elements combine in specific proportions.

cathode rays were bent in the same way whenever a magnet was brought near them.