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Electrons are subatomic particles that orbit the nuclei of atoms.

Most atoms contain an equal number of electrons and protons; if not, then the atom has a net charge and is known as an ion. Electrons have a negative electric charge and a mass many orders of magnitude smaller than protons and neutrons – the two other principal particles of which atoms are comprised. The antimatter equivalent of an electron is a positron.

In 2367, a telepathic message communicated to Counselor Troi contained the phrase, "One moon circles." Upon further investigation, with the assistance of Data, the USS Enterprise-D crew determined the phrase analogously referred to the hydrogen atom, in which "one electron circles one proton." (TNG: "Night Terrors")

Chlorophyll gives off high-energy electrons that are picked up by other molecules, as Julian Bashir told Goran'Agar in 2372, which gave Chief Miles O'Brien time to create a plasma charge. (DS9: "Hippocratic Oath")

In an ultimately discarded line of dialogue from the final draft script of TOS: "Court Martial", Captain James T. Kirk stated that acquiring electron readings in abnormal conditions, such as ion storms, was one of the USS Enterprise's missions, and that doing so was only possible by "direct exposure on ion-sensitive plates" on the "skin" of the starship.

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