  The excitation of soft dipole modes in light nuclei via inelastic electron
scattering is investigated. I show that, under the proposed conditions of the
forthcoming electron-ion colliders, the scattering cross sections have a direct
relation to the scattering by real photons. The advantages of electron
scattering over other electromagnetic probes is explored. The response
functions for direct breakup are studied with few-body models. The dependence
upon final state interactions is discussed. A comparison between direct breakup
and collective models is performed. The results of this investigation are
important for the planned electron-ion colliders at the GSI and RIKEN
facilities.
