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)
I have been experimenting on the cathode rays, and I have come to the conclusion that they are not waves, but particles, and that these particles are much smaller than atoms.
The atom is not the ultimate limit of subdivision.
The electron is the corpuscle.
The properties of the cathode rays are independent of the nature of the gas through which the discharge passes, and of the electrodes from which the rays are produced.
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.
The discovery of the electron has made it possible to explain a great many phenomena which were previously quite inexplicable.
The atom is not indivisible, but is a complex structure built up of simpler units.
The electron is the fundamental constituent of all matter.
The electron is the smallest particle of matter known to us.
The electron is the carrier of negative electricity.
The electron is the universal constituent of matter.
The electron is the ultimate constituent of all atoms.
The electron is the foundation of modern physics.
The electron is the link between electricity and matter.
The electron is the key to unlocking the secrets of the atom.
The electron is the most fundamental particle we know.
The electron is the source of all light.
The electron is the cause of all magnetism.
The electron is the essence of electricity.
The electron is the ultimate constituent of all forms of matter.
Contemporaries of J. J. Thomson
Other Physicss born within 50 years of J. J. Thomson (1856–1940).