Jj thomson biography

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Cathode Rays and the Electron

In the 1890s, many physicists had become interested in the still largely unknown nature of cathode rays, which are light beams that occur after the discharge of electricity in a vacuum chamber, and Thomson joined them in 1894. He correctly suggested that the positively charged particles were formed by the loss of an electron (isotopes).

Thomson (1856 - 1940)

Sir Joseph John Thomson, often known as J.J. Thomson, was born on December 18, 1856, in Cheetham Hill, a suburb of Manchester, England, to Scottish parentage. Thomson attended Trinity College at Cambridge, where he would come to head the Cavendish Laboratory. J. Thomson was born on December 18th, 1856 in England.

J.J. His investigations into the action of electrostatic and magnetic fields in the nature of so-called "anode rays" or "canal rays" would eventually result in the invention of the mass spectrometer (then called a parabola spectrograph) by Francis Aston, a tool that allows the determination of the mass-to-charge ratio of ions and which has since become an ubiquitous research tool in chemistry.

Thomson was a gifted lecturer and teacher.

Positive rays behaved very differently from cathode rays, and he found that each ray followed its own parabolic path based on its detection on the photographic plate. He discovered that the ratio was the same regardless of what type of gas was used, which led him to conclude that the particles that made up the gases were universal.

Thomson determined that all matter is made up of tiny particles that are much smaller than atoms.

His father wished he would become an engineer, however he could not find an apprenticeship. He was both respected and well-liked, and students came from around the world to study with him.

Research

In 1894, Thomson began studying cathode rays, which are glowing beams of light that follow an electrical discharge in a high-vacuum tube.

His findings dealt the death blow to the existing orthodoxy, which held that atoms themselves were indivisible and the smallest units in existence. His death on August 30, 1940, was somewhat overshadowed by World War Two, but he was still granted the honor of a burial in Westminster Abbey, close to the graves of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

Leadership and creativity : a history of the Cavendish Laboratory, 1871 - 1919

External links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH-U_qCEzT0

http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/cambridge-physicist-is-streets-ahead/

References

http://thomson.iqm.unicamp.br/thomson.phphttp://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/atomic-and-nuclear-structure/thomson.aspxhttp://www.biography.com/people/jj-thomson-40039http://study.com/academy/lesson/jj-thomsons-cathode-ray-tube-crt-definition-experiment-diagram.htmlhttps://explorable.com/cathode-ray-experiment

[[Category:Notable Scientists]

J.J.

Philosophical Magazine 11: 769–781. Physicists knew that the ray had an electric charge, and they were trying to figure out if that electric charge could be separated from the ray. J. J. Thomson published over 200 papers and 13 books.

jj thomson biography

When an apprenticeship at an engineering firm couldn't be found, Thomson was sent to bide his time at Owens College at the age of 14. He was elected a member of the Royal Society, the most prestigious scientific association in the United Kingdom, and by the age of 28 he had been made Cavendish Professor of Physics, succeeding Rayleigh himself in the job.

His father, a bookseller, wanted him to be an engineer, but did not have the fee for J.J.'s apprenticeship. He was chosen Master of Trinity in 1918 and guided the college until shortly before his death.

In 1884, Thomson became Cavendish Professor of Physics. J. Thomson discovered the electron in 1897 while performing experiments on electric discharge in a high-vacuum cathode ray tube.

He was unsuccessful in his search, and instead enrolled his son at Owens College.

Cathode Ray Experiments

A cathode ray tube is a glass tube with wiring inserted on both ends, and as much air as possible pumped out of it.