Is there definitive proof that all electrons are indentical in every way?

Question

I am interested to know if electrons have been proven beyond a shadow of doubt to be identical through observation or is it solely a theoretical/mathematical assumption.

If muons, taus and positrons are electrons it is a contradiction in terms to say that electrons are identical, since all one is doing is renaming the differences. One can see this in terms of a 'chair' for example, 'armchair', 'sofa'.However if one considers a 'fingerprint', they are all called fingerprints however they are not all identical if one is able to observe them in greater detail.

So if we were able to observe electrons, and their derivatives, would we actually be able to see miniscule differences which would have no effect on their chemical/formation abilities?

Answer 1

Well electrons r said to be identical in all respects bcos we have no contrary proof. U can source electrons from ANY atom of any element. They found to contain the same charge, same mass same density and whatever the property U can measure. Till date there is no experiment which indicated that they can be or may be different.

And electrons r just the building blocks of an atom. U can extract an electron from the hydrogen atom and fill up the deficiency of a carbon atom or vice verse. An electron will never mind this. And after this operation no change is observed in the properties of the 'atom'.

If electrons were different then it may not be possible to take the electrons of one element to fill up in some other atom. Also in that case it would be possible to identify an electron by looking that from where it came from. But after an electron is detached from the parent atom then it is impossible to identify that from which source this electron had came from.

So these much proofs r enough to state that "an electron is identical in all respect from an other electron "

Answer 2

If there were any difference whatsoever, then two electrons could be allowed to share the same wave state. Because they are the same, the Pauli exclusion principle won't let them share. This is extremely important to chemistry. We'd notice any violation!

There are electrons with different mass. We call them muons and taus. Just like electrons but fatter and they decay quickly. And electrons with opposite charge. We call them positrons. But electrons are electrons are electrons.

Like most anything in science, we haven't "proven" that every electron is identical. But we've done a heck of a lot of chemistry over the years and never noticed an atom where a valence electron dropped into a lower, already occupied state.

Edit: Answer to questioners edit: I was being a little cavalier when I stated that muons and taus were just "heavy electrons". These particles are leptons like electrons and they have the same charge, but they are distinct particles. They have much different masses and they have their own lepton "flavor" and therefore their own associated neutrinos. They have vastly different lifetimes. Whether or not you want to call them "heavy electrons" is a semantic question more than a substantive one.

The point is that it is virtually unthinkable that there could be a particle out there that is almost exactly like an electron but not quite. The issue isn't just accuracy of measurement. The issue is that electrons react to one another in a special way because they are absolutely identical. They can swap identities without anyone being the wiser. This property is the reason that chemistry works the way it does. An almost-electron would stick out like a sore thumb, even if all its measurable quantities were so close to an electrons that we couldn't tell the difference that way.

Answer 3

It is not the province of science to prove things "beyond a shadow of doubt". That is for mathematicians and philosophers. It is more than an assumption, though, since precise measurements of all the electron's known properties (mass, charge, and spin) have been measured precisely to many decimal places, with no two electrons every having been shown to be different. The most you will ever be able to say is that they are theoretically identical, and the theory is corroborated by experiment.

Answer 4

Within the limits of our ability to measure mass, charge, etc, they have been proven to be the same. But our ability to measure things will always have a limited precision. So in a sense, not only has it not been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, but it can never be proven.

Answer 5

A good question.

I guess scientists have shown that electrons are very small, much smaller than protons and neutrons, so there is not much to them that might make them possibly different from each other.

Due to quantum mechanics they are waves half the time, so perhaps there is nothing simpler than a wave.

Answer 6

Data has been collected on billions, if not trillions of electrons at all of the supercolliders ever in operation. I'd say its pretty well established.

Answer 7

I am afraid in Nature nothing is identical to anything else!
Just try to find two equal leafs, two equal pebbles, two equal anything!
That is the beauty of Nature.
It does not need (our idea of) perfection (such as our precision mechanisms) in order for everything to work remarkably well.