J. J. Thomson, the Discovery of the Electron, and the Study of Atomic Structure
Overview
Late in the nineteenth century physicists were working hard to understand the properties of electricity and the nature of matter. Both subjects were transformed by the experiments of J. J. Thomson, who in 1897 showed the existence of the charged particles that came to be known as electrons. Along with the nearly contemporaneous discoveries of radioactivity and x rays, the discovery of the electron focused the attention of scientists on the problem of atomic structure, as well as on ways to put these invisible phenomena to use with inventions such as radio and television.
Background
Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940) spent his professional life at England's Cambridge University, where he passed in four years from prizewinning student (he was ranked second "wrangler" in the prestigious "mathematical tripos" examination in 1880) to head professor at the Cavendish Laboratory—a position previously held by James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) and Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919). Maxwell, who first put forth the theory of an electromagnetic field, set up the Cavendish Laboratory in 1874 as a place to pursue investigations in experimental physics and to provide electrical standards for industry. Although he died in 1879, his influence continued to be felt there among the physicists.
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