tiny negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom and are responsible for electricity and chemical reactions.
From Greek 'elektron' meaning 'amber,' because ancient Greeks observed that rubbed amber attracts light objects. Scientists named the particle after this phenomenon of static electricity.
The word 'electron' comes from amber—ancient people noticed rubbed amber attracted bits of straw, creating the first observed electricity. We've built our entire electrical civilization on a phenomenon Greeks named after a fossilized tree resin.
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