Biography:J. J. Thomson

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J. J. Thomson
Thomson
Thomson
Born 18 December 1856
Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England
Died 30 August 1940
Cambridge, England


Known for Discovery of the electron; cathode rays; mass-to-charge ratio
Awards Nobel Prize in Physics (1906)

J. J. Thomson (1856-1940) was a British physicist whose cathode-ray experiments led to the identification of the electron as a subatomic particle. His work showed that atoms contain smaller charged constituents and helped move physics beyond the older picture of indivisible atoms.

Electron discovery

In 1897 Thomson measured the charge-to-mass ratio of cathode-ray particles and argued that they were universal constituents of matter. These particles were soon identified with electrons. The result became one of the foundations of modern atomic and particle physics.

Thomson's work is linked with the early history of atomic electrons, elementary particles, and the structure of matter.

References


Author: Harold Foppele