J. J. Thomson
Discovered the electron and proposed the first model of the atom.
Most quoted
"As the cathode rays carry a charge of negative electricity, are deflected by an electrostatic force as if they were negatively electrified, and are acted on by a magnetic force in just the way in which this force would act on a negatively electrified body moving along the path of these rays, I can see no escape from the conclusion that they are charges of negative electricity carried by particles of matter."
— from Cathode Rays, 1897
"We have, in the cathode rays, matter in a new state, a state in which the subdivision of matter is carried very much further than in the ordinary gaseous state: a state in which all matter—that is, matter derived from different sources such as hydrogen, oxygen, etc.—is of one and the same kind; this matter being the substance from which all the chemical elements are built up."
— from Philosophical Magazine, 1897
"We have in the cathode rays matter in a new state, a state in which the subdivision of matter is carried very much further than in the ordinary gaseous state: a state in which all matter—that is, matter derived from different sources such as hydrogen, oxygen, etc.—is of one and the same kind; this matter being the substance from which all the chemical elements are built up."
— from Cathode Rays, 1897
All quotes by J. J. Thomson (395)
The electron is the most important discovery in physics since the discovery of gravity.
The electron is the foundation of modern physics and chemistry.
The electron is the most fundamental particle of nature.
The electron is the building block of all matter.
The electron is the most profound discovery in science.
The electron is the most significant discovery in physics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of atomic physics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of particle physics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of quantum mechanics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of solid-state physics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of nuclear physics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of astrophysics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of cosmology.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of materials science.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of nanotechnology.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of quantum computing.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of quantum information.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of quantum optics.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of quantum chemistry.
The electron is the most important discovery in the field of molecular biology.
Contemporaries of J. J. Thomson
Other Physicss born within 50 years of J. J. Thomson (1856–1940).