J. J. Thomson and The Electron: 1897-1899 An Introduction

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

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Abstract Volume 2 Issue 6 (1997), S1430-4171(97)06149-4

J. J. Thomson and The Electron: 1897-1899 An Introduction

George E. Smith

Department of Philosophy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155-7068

Published online: 24 December 1997

Abstract. Three Seminal Papers of J. J. Thomson This being the 100th anniversary of J. J. Thomson’s discovery of the electron, the October 1897 paper in which he presented his case that cathode rays are streams of subatomic "corpuscles" is attracting a great deal of attention. Viewed from 100 years later, this paper stands out as the starting point for the research into the structure of the atom that has dominated 20th-century science. Viewed in its original historical context, however, this paper was but one of a group by Thomson and his Cavendish Laboratory research students and is matched in importance by his two ensuing papers: "On the Charge of Electricity carried by the Ions produced by Röntgen Rays" published in December 1898 and "On the Masses of the Ions in Gases at Low Pressures" published in December 1899. All three of these seminal papers, which appeared in the prestigious Philosophical Magazine, are included here, along with the published text of Thomson’s talk of April 30, 1897, in which he first put the subatomic proposal forward and George Fitzgerald’s commentary on this talk.

Key Words: Chemistry and History; Thomson; electron

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Article in PDF format (2.4 MB )

Supporting Materials:

may_1897.pdf Dissociation of Atoms (39 KB) 10.1007/s00897970149b
2may1897.pdf Cathode Rays (784 KB) 10.1007/s00897970149e
oct_1897.pdf XL Cathode Rays (1 MB) 10.1007/s00897970149d
dec_1898.pdf LVII. on the Charge of Electricity carried by the Ions produced by Röntgen Rays (182 KB) 10.1007/s00897970149e
dec_1899.pdf LVIII. On the Masses of the Ions in Gases at Low Pressures (223 KB) 10.1007/s00897970149f