The Saga of J. J. Thomson
Category
Scientists & Inventors
Era / Tenure
18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940
Leaderboard Rank
#331 in Scientists & Inventors
Verified Hearts
28,254 Hearts
ORIGINS & BACKGROUND
Profile & Early Foundations
Sir Joseph John Thomson (18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940) was a British physicist.
THE JOURNEY & BREAKTHROUGHS
Major Works & Significant Milestones
He received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases." In 1897, he showed that cathode rays were composed of previously unknown negatively charged particles (now called electrons), which he calculated must have bodies much smaller than atoms and a very large charge-to-mass ratio.
Key Milestone & Career Defining Moment
The electron was the first subatomic particle to be discovered.
