Image: J J Thomsons cathode ray tube with magnet coils, 1897. (9663807404)
Description: This apparatus was used to discover the electron. In 1896, in Cambridge, Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940) began experiments on cathode rays. In Britain, physicists argued these rays were particles, but German physicists disagreed, thinking they were a type of electromagnetic radiation. Thomson showed that the cathode rays were particles with a negative charge and much smaller than an atom. He published this information in April 1897; the particles were later named electrons. Apparatus shown without its stand.
Author: Science Museum London / Science and Society Picture Library
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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