The most perfectly spherical object ever observed by mankind is the electron. In a series of experiments led by physicist Jony Hudson at Imperial College London, electrons were anchored to a molecule of ytterbium fluoride and measured 25 million times with a laser beam. These data showed that the negatively charged subatomic particles are a perfect sphere to within one billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter. To illustrate this fantastic sphericity, the research team said that if one were to scale up an electron to the size of our solar system⁠—about 12 billion kilometers wide⁠—any deviation from its roundness would be smaller than the width of a human hair.

The researchers were disappointed at this outcome⁠—they were hoping to find some irregularity in the shape of the electron to help explain why our universe has more matter than antimatter.

1 Comments