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Science Electron discovered April 30, 1897, by Joseph John Thomson
Science Electron discovered April 30, 1897, by Joseph John Thomson | Electron discovered April 30, 1897, by Joseph John Thomson |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Wednesday, 30 April 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Through his experiments, Thomson found that when he applied a magnet (an object containing the property of magnetism—a property of attraction to iron that is inherent in magnets and materials that are induced to have an attraction to iron by introducing a moving electric charge or current through them) to the cathode rays and bent their direction of motion, its negative charge was carried along with the bent rays. Featured Whitepaper
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Science DiscussionsIn addition, Thomson conducted experiments on whether cathode rays could be deflected by an electrical field. He constructed a cathode ray tube that had nearly a perfect vacuum (space devoid of matter, like the vacuum of outer space) inside. He coated one end of the tube with phosphorescent paint. He found that the cathode rays were bend when an electrical field was applied to them; specifically, in a direction that showed the particles had a negative charge. Thus, Thomson concluded that these cathode rays were composed of negatively charged particles, which he called “corpuscles.” Thomson also calculated the mass-to-charge ratio of the electrons, what he called corpuscles. He measured the amount of deflection brought about them by the application of a magnetic field, and the amount of energy that they carried. He found the mass-to-charge ratio of the electron to be over one thousand times smaller than that of a hydrogen ion (H+). He concluded that electrons are either very highly charged particles or very light in mass. Although scientists were initially skeptical of his statements in 1897, he was subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for his discovery of the electron; specifically, "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases." Along with discovering the electron, Thomson is also credited with discovering isotopes and the invention of the mass spectrometer. To learn more about the discovery of the electron, please go to the American Institute of Physics (Center for the History of Physics) website “The Discovery of the Electron.” Also, to learn more about J.J. Thomson, go to: “Thomson, Joseph John” at ChemistryExplained.com. NOTE by AUTHOR: Yes, first comment is correct. I switched the ratio of charge and mass. It should be (as it is now) the "mass-to-charge" ratio, not the "charge-to-mass" ratio. Thanks for the good catch! |
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