All articles starting with E

Electron backscatter diffraction

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), also known as orientation imaging microscopy or backscatter Kikuchi diffraction, is a scanning electron microscope technique that maps crystal orientation, phase, and defects in a tilted, polished sample.

Electron beam curing

Electron beam curing (EB curing) is a nonthermal, out-of-autoclave manufacturing method that uses high-energy electrons to solidify polymer composites, coatings, and inks in seconds rather than hours.

Electron beam ion trap

An electron beam ion trap (EBIT) is a table-top device that creates and studies highly charged ions with a compressed electron beam, first built at Lawrence Livermore.

Electron beam physical vapor deposition

Electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) is a vacuum coating technique in which an electron beam evaporates source material that condenses as a thin film on a substrate.

Electron beam therapy

Electron beam therapy, also called electron therapy, is external beam radiation therapy using high-energy electrons to treat skin and superficial tumors while sparing deeper tissues.

Electron beam-induced current

Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) is a scanning electron microscopy technique that maps the current generated when an electron beam creates electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor, revealing junctions and defects.

Electron capture

Electron capture, also called K-capture or inverse beta decay, is a radioactive decay mode in which a nucleus absorbs an inner-shell electron, converting a proton into a neutron.

Electron capture detector

The electron capture detector (ECD) is a gas chromatography detector that measures halogenated compounds at picogram levels, invented by James Lovelock and reported in 1960.

Electron capture dissociation

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) is a tandem mass spectrometry fragmentation technique, introduced in 1998, in which protein ions capture low-energy electrons and fragment along the backbone.

Electron channeling contrast imaging

Electron channeling contrast imaging, or ECCI, is a scanning electron microscopy technique that images defects such as dislocations and stacking faults in bulk samples with little preparation.

Electron configuration

Electron configuration, also called electron shell configuration, is the distribution of an atom's electrons among orbitals according to the Pauli principle, written in notation such as [Ne] 3s² 3p⁴.

Electron configurations of the elements (data page)

A data page tabulating the ground-state electron configurations and first ionization energies of the chemical elements, hydrogen through uranium, compiled by NIST and noting exceptions like chromium and copper to the simple filling order.

Electron cooling

Electron cooling is a beam-cooling technique proposed by Gersh Budker in 1966, reducing the size and energy spread of stored particle beams with a matched electron beam.

Electron counting

Electron counting is a detection mode in electron microscopy in which the camera registers each individual electron, removing readout noise and improving dose efficiency for cryo-EM.

Electron crystallography

Electron crystallography determines the atomic structure of crystals by diffracting an electron beam, working on crystals far smaller than X-ray diffraction requires and revealing light-atom positions and charge states.

Electron cyclotron current drive

Electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) drives non-inductive current in fusion plasmas by injecting millimeter waves, providing highly localized current for tokamak operation and tearing-mode control.

Electron cyclotron resonance

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) is the condition in which electrons gyrating in a magnetic field absorb energy continuously from an electromagnetic wave of matching frequency.

Electron cyclotron resonance heating

Electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) heats fusion plasma with microwaves tuned to the electron gyration frequency; it is the predominant heating method of the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator.

Electron deficiency

Electron deficiency in chemistry is the condition of a molecule with too few valence electrons for normal two-center two-electron bonds, so bonding is multicenter, as in diborane and the boranes.

Electron degeneracy pressure

Electron degeneracy pressure, also known as Fermi pressure, is the pressure from electrons forced into high-momentum states by the Pauli exclusion principle, supporting white dwarfs against gravity.

Electron density

Electron density is the probability per unit volume of finding an electron at a given point in space, a physical observable measured by X-ray diffraction.

Electron diffraction

Electron diffraction is the scattering of an electron beam by the periodic electric potential of a crystal, producing patterns from which atomic structure can be determined.

Oct 22, 2026

Electron donor–acceptor complex photoactivation

Electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complex photoactivation is a synthetic strategy where an electron-rich donor and electron-poor acceptor form a complex that absorbs visible light, generating radicals without a photocatalyst.

Electron electric dipole moment

The electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) is a hypothetical charge separation along the electron's spin axis; none has been observed, with the best limit set in 2023.

Electron electric dipole moment search

The electron electric dipole moment search (eEDM) looks for a permanent charge separation along the electron's spin; none has been found, with a current limit of 4.1×10⁻³⁰ e·cm.

Electron energy loss spectroscopy

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measures the energy a beam of electrons transfers to a material, reading composition, bonding, and excitations, with modern instruments reaching single-atom sensitivity.

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy imaging

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy imaging is a transmission electron microscopy technique that maps elements and chemical bonding states pixel by pixel, and is especially useful for light elements such as nitrogen.

Oct 22, 2026

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy with monochromated STEM

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy with monochromated STEM (monochromated STEM-EELS) passes a scanning transmission electron microscope's beam through a monochromator, reaching few-meV energy resolution to measure bandgaps, plasmons, excitons, and vibrational modes.

Electron first-stage recovery program

Rocket Lab's Electron first-stage recovery program, begun in 2018, recovers the small-lift rocket's first stage by guided re-entry, parachutes, and retrieval at sea instead of propulsive landing.