The Biography Of J.j Thomson

J.J. Thomson arose in Cheethamhill, England, just outside of Manchester, on 18 December 1856. Thomson’s father was an engineer and bookseller. Thomson was 14 when a job as an apprentice at an engineering company wasn’t available. He ended up going to Owens College to finish his education. J.J. Thompson was awarded a scholarship in 1876 to Trinity College at Cambridge to study math. His work on cathode radiorays led to discovery of the electron. Thomson was also awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics.

His death was August 30, 1940. Thomson believed that the deflection caused by the rays of electricly charged plates and magnetics was evidence of “bodies less than atoms (electrons),” which he attributed to a large charge-to-mass ratio. Thompson did many research over the years, but his cathode-rays work is what most people remember. These glowing beams are caused by an electric discharge in a high vacuum tube. Thompson’s cathode-rays research led him to the development of atomic theory. He also discovered electrons, which he called ‘corpuscles’. The dough contained the positively charged electrons, while the negative electrons represent the raisins in a pudding. Thomson’s atom model explained some of atom’s electrical properties due to electrons. However, it did not recognize positive charges in theatom as particles. J.J Thompson created better equipment, methods and tools to study cathode Rays.

He was able to calculate the ratio between the electric charge and the particle mass by passing the rays through the vacuum. The ratio was constant regardless of the type of gas used. This led to the conclusion that the particles making up the gases were all the same. Through his research into the cathode rays, J.J Thompson has made a huge contribution to the atomic architecture and atomic theories.