Electron

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Electrons are indivisible fundamental particles, generally found forming an orbiting shell surrounding the nucleus of all atoms. Their negative electrical charge is the fundamental unit charge of all matter, i.e., their charge is defined as being -1.

In conductors, including most metals, the ability of electrons to jump from one atom to the next is the phenomenon of electrical current. A current of one ampere represents the flow of something like 10¹⁸ electron charges past a given point per second; but conventional current is normally reckoned as positive-to-negative, the opposite of the actual movement of electrons.

The standard particle symbol for the electron is e⁻. Its positively-charged antiparticle, the positron (e⁺), is not normally encountered in radio work.