Biography:George Johnstone Stoney: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Physicist who introduced the name electron}}
{{Short description|Irish physicist who introduced the name electron}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = George Johnstone Stoney
| image = Biography_George_Johnstone_Stoney.jpg
| caption = Stoney
| birth_date = 15 February 1826
| birth_place = Oakley Park, Ireland
| death_date = 5 July 1911
| death_place = London, England
| fields = Physics
| work_institutions = Queen's University Galway
| known_for = Name electron; elementary charge
}}
 
'''George Johnstone Stoney''' (1826-1911) was an Irish physicist who introduced the name ''electron'' for the elementary unit of electric charge.
'''George Johnstone Stoney''' (1826-1911) was an Irish physicist who introduced the name ''electron'' for the elementary unit of electric charge.


In the Quantum Collection, Stoney is linked with the naming history of the [[Physics:Quantum electron|electron]].
== Electron naming ==
Stoney argued that electricity has a natural unit and later proposed the name ''electron'' for that unit. After [[Biography:J. J. Thomson|J. J. Thomson]] identified the electron as a subatomic particle, the name became attached to the particle itself.


== See also ==
Stoney's work belongs to the pre-quantum history of charge quantization and particle physics.
 
== Quantum Collection links ==
* [[Physics:Quantum electron]]
* [[Physics:Quantum electron]]
* [[Physics:Quantum atoms/electron]]
* [[Physics:Quantum atoms/electron]]
* [[Physics:Quantum elementary particle]]
== References ==
{{reflist|3}}
* {{Cite web |title=George Johnstone Stoney |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Johnstone-Stoney |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=2026-05-23}}
* {{Cite web |title=George Johnstone Stoney |url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Stoney/ |website=MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive |access-date=2026-05-23}}


{{Author|Harold Foppele}}
{{Author|Harold Foppele}}

Latest revision as of 08:33, 23 May 2026


George Johnstone Stoney
Stoney
Stoney
Born 15 February 1826
Oakley Park, Ireland
Died 5 July 1911
London, England


Known for Name electron; elementary charge

George Johnstone Stoney (1826-1911) was an Irish physicist who introduced the name electron for the elementary unit of electric charge.

Electron naming

Stoney argued that electricity has a natural unit and later proposed the name electron for that unit. After J. J. Thomson identified the electron as a subatomic particle, the name became attached to the particle itself.

Stoney's work belongs to the pre-quantum history of charge quantization and particle physics.

References


Author: Harold Foppele