Tube used in the discovery of the electron, about 1896

Made:
1896 in Cambridge
maker:
Joseph John Thomson
Chemical Society Centenary exhibition - Electronic structure Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Chemical Society Centenary exhibition - Electronic structure
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge|Science Museum, London

Apparatus for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and the ratio of the mass of the carriers to the charge carried by them. (J.J. Thomson's original e/m cathode ray tube.)

This is one of the original vacuum tubes used by the Cambridge professor of physics John Joseph Thomson to discover the electron in 1897. Thomson's work contributed enormously to our understanding of the atomic structure of matter, leading to the research fields of atomic and nuclear physics, and marking the birth of the modern electronic age. An enthusiastic and ambitious theoretician, Thomson was known to be an inexpert experimenter. But the results of his work with simple table top apparatus have proved momentous.

Details

Category:
Nuclear Physics
Object Number:
1901-51
Materials:
glass
type:
electrons, cathode ray demonstration tubes and electric discharge lamps
credit:
Loan from Sir Joseph John Thomson, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge

Parts

J J Thomson's Electromagnetic Tube used in the Discovery of the Electron, about 1896

J J Thomson's Electromagnetic Tube used in the Discovery of the Electron, about 1896

Electromagnetic (e/m) cathode ray tube, by Sir Joseph John Thomson, Cambridge, England, 1896. Part of the J.J. Thomson's original e/m cathode ray tube apparatus, for measuring the velocity of the cathode rays and the ratio of the mass of the carriers to the charge carried by them.

Measurements:
overall: 120 mm x 350 mm x 50 mm,
Materials:
glass (soda-glass) , resin (unidentified) and metal (unknown)
Object Number:
1901-51/1
type:
electrons and cathode ray demonstration tubes