#J.j.thomson cathode ray professional

Maxwell, who first put forth the theory of an electromagnetic field, set up the Cavendish Laboratory in 1874 as a place to pursue investigations in experimental physics and to provide electrical standards for industry.

#J.j.thomson cathode ray professional

Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940) spent his professional life at England's Cambridge University, where he passed in four years from prizewinning student (he was ranked second 'wrangler' in the prestigious 'mathematical tripos' examination in 1880) to head professor at the Cavendish Laboratory-a position previously held by James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) and Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919). Along with the nearly contemporaneous discoveries of radioactivity and x rays, the discovery of the electron focused the attention of scientists on the problem of atomic structure, as well as on ways to put these invisible phenomena to use with inventions such as radio and television.

Thomson, who in 1897 showed the existence of the charged particles that came to be known as electrons. Both subjects were transformed by the experiments of J. Late in the nineteenth century physicists were working hard to understand the properties of electricity and the nature of matter. Thomson, the Discovery of the Electron, and the Study of Atomic Structure Overview