J.J. Thomson – Discovery of the Electron
CHE003 Chemistry
Individual Assignment
J.J. Thomson – Discovery of the electron
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Biographical information 3
Background information 4
Experimental information 5
Impact 6
Conclusion 7
J.J. Thomson – Discovery of the electron
Introduction
The discovery of the electron is affirmative and justly credited to the English physicist Sir Joseph John Thomson (Weinberg, 2003). He had found and identified the electron in Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge in 1897. From many experiments, Thomson had certified that cathode rays carry negative charge and identified the cathode rays inside vacuum tubes as being electric currents composed of these tiny electrons (Hamblin, 2005). It was the crucial first step in the development of the twentieth-century concept of the atom (Simmons, 1996). In the following paragraphs, I will introduce the Thomson’s life and his important achievements.
Biographical information
J.J. Thomson was born at Cheetham Hill, a suburb of Manchester, England on December 18, 1856. His father Joseph Thomson was a publisher and book dealer; his mother was Emma Swindles, a housewife. The family’s environment was not good for learned, but he was excellent in study and had an exceptional memory. When Thomson was fourteen in 1870, he enrolled in Owens College and had been taught by the physics professor, Balfour Stewart. Then he entered Trinity College in 1876, as a minor scholar. In 1880, Thomson became a Fellow of Trinity College, when he was Second Wrangler and Second Smith 's Prizeman; he remained at Cambridge for the rest of his life, and becoming lecturer in 1883. In 1884, Thomson was named Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at an exceptionally young age (Simmons, 1996). On April 30, 1897, was his first time announced preliminary discovery of electron during lecture in Royal Institute, England. In 1903, Thomson published a summary of his work; Conduction of electricity through gases, and
Individual Assignment
J.J. Thomson – Discovery of the electron
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Biographical information 3
Background information 4
Experimental information 5
Impact 6
Conclusion 7
J.J. Thomson – Discovery of the electron
Introduction
The discovery of the electron is affirmative and justly credited to the English physicist Sir Joseph John Thomson (Weinberg, 2003). He had found and identified the electron in Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge in 1897. From many experiments, Thomson had certified that cathode rays carry negative charge and identified the cathode rays inside vacuum tubes as being electric currents composed of these tiny electrons (Hamblin, 2005). It was the crucial first step in the development of the twentieth-century concept of the atom (Simmons, 1996). In the following paragraphs, I will introduce the Thomson’s life and his important achievements.
Biographical information
J.J. Thomson was born at Cheetham Hill, a suburb of Manchester, England on December 18, 1856. His father Joseph Thomson was a publisher and book dealer; his mother was Emma Swindles, a housewife. The family’s environment was not good for learned, but he was excellent in study and had an exceptional memory. When Thomson was fourteen in 1870, he enrolled in Owens College and had been taught by the physics professor, Balfour Stewart. Then he entered Trinity College in 1876, as a minor scholar. In 1880, Thomson became a Fellow of Trinity College, when he was Second Wrangler and Second Smith 's Prizeman; he remained at Cambridge for the rest of his life, and becoming lecturer in 1883. In 1884, Thomson was named Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at an exceptionally young age (Simmons, 1996). On April 30, 1897, was his first time announced preliminary discovery of electron during lecture in Royal Institute, England. In 1903, Thomson published a summary of his work; Conduction of electricity through gases, and
Bibliography: List Dahl, P. F. (1997). Flash of the cathode rays: A history of J J Thomson 's electron. USA: Institute of Physics Publishing. Franklin, A. (2004). Are there really neutrinos?: An evidential history. USA: Westview Press. (pp.17-21). Hamblin, J. D. (2005). Science in the early twentieth century: An encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. (pp.18-20, 96-98, 320-321). Hollow, R.& Morgan, A. (1990). History of ideas in physics: Gravitation and atomic structure. Australia: Brooks Waterloo. (pp.54-56). Ne 'eman, Y. & Kirsh, Y. (1996). The particle hunters (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (pp.2-5). Simmons, J. (1996). The scientific 100: A ranking of the most influential scientist, past and present. USA: Carol Publishing Group. (pp.152-155). Weinberg, S. (2003). The discovery of subatomic particles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (pp.9-11).