User:Madiglaum/J. J. Thomson

Interests Of Science and Findings
JJ Thompson was highly interested in the atom and its structure. He performed many experiments with charged particles. Thompson showed that cathode rays consist of particles called electrons that conduct electricity. In 1894 Thomas began researching the cathode ray and electrical discharge in high-vacuume tubes. Originally Thompson called electrons 'corpuscles.' In 1960 Thomas then began to study positively charged ions and rays. This lead to his discovery of ionized neon through a magnet and electrical field. This discovery was the proof of existence of isotopes in a stable element.

References:https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1906/thomson/facts/, https://www.biography.com/scientist/jj-thomson

Educators and Scientific Collaborations
JJ Thompson was enrolled at Owens College, Manchester, in 1870, where he studied math, physics and engineering at age 14. In 1876 he entered Trinity College after his professor encouraged the young man to apply for the scholarship at Cambridge University as a minor scholar just starting his 20s. After graduating from Trinity College 2nd in his class in 1880, Thompson was offered a scholarship and stayed at Trinity College the rest of his life as the professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge. Thompson was working on creating mathematical models that would explain the nature of atoms and electromagnetic forces.Thomson co-operated with Professor J. H. Poynting creating a textbook of physics, properties of Matter. In addition, he produced Elements of the Mathematical Theory of Electricity and Magnetism which was released in 1921.

References:https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1906/thomson/biographical/, https://history.aip.org/exhibits/electron/jjthomson.htm

Accomplishments and Awards That Contributed to Science
Thompson had many findings throughout his career. An example is the discovery of the electron with a series of experiments in the Cavendish Laboratory. Thomson realized that it was also a subatomic particle, the first one to be discovered. He created the 'Plum Pudding' model. In 1906 Thompson received the Nobel Prize in Physics and then in 1908 he was knighted. His investigations into the action of electrostatic and magnetic fields would eventually result in the invention of the mass spectrometer by Francis Aston.

Scientific Struggles that were Later Disproven

After JJ Thompson came out with his model of the atom with electrons, he had assumed electrons formed a uniform distribution cloud where electrons would rotate on rights like an atmosphere. This was called the 'Plum Pudding Model.' Years later, Rutherford created another experiment called the gold foil experiment. Based on Thompson's model alpha particles should pass straight through the atom however Rutherford found that some particles bounced off. This disproved the electron distribution plum pudding theory and was replaced by the Rutherford mode where the atom is made up of mostly empty space with a small positive center and electrons around in energy levels.

References: https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/biographies/thomson.html, https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/electronic-structure-of-atoms/history-of-atomic-structure/a/discovery-of-the-electron-and-nucleus