4/15/2024 0 Comments Thomson atomic theoryThis would enable physicists not only to describe the behavior of electricity, but also to understand how its phenomena were produced. An important part of this program was the effort to establish a microscopic basis for electromagnetic phenomena. It remained the preeminent center for the study of subatomic physics into the early decades of the twentieth century.Īlthough Maxwell himself did not set an explicit agenda for his successors, in the period following his death many of Cambridge's physicists devoted themselves to developing, testing, and expanding Maxwell's theory of electricity and magnetism. Mathematical physics had long been established at Cambridge, and while Maxwell, Thomson, and most other Cambridge physicists continued to work successfully in this tradition, the Cavendish Laboratory helped make Cambridge an important center for experimental investigations as well. Although he died in 1879, his influence continued to be felt there among the physicists. Maxwell, who first put forth the theory of an electromagnetic field, set up the Cavendish Laboratory in 1874 as a place to pursue investigations in experimental physics and to provide electrical standards for industry. Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940) spent his professional life at England's Cambridge University, where he passed in four years from prizewinning student (he was ranked second "wrangler" in the prestigious "mathematical tripos" examination in 1880) to head professor at the Cavendish Laboratory-a position previously held by James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) and Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919). Along with the nearly contemporaneous discoveries of radioactivity and x rays, the discovery of the electron focused the attention of scientists on the problem of atomic structure, as well as on ways to put these invisible phenomena to use with inventions such as radio and television. Thomson, who in 1897 showed the existence of the charged particles that came to be known as electrons. Both subjects were transformed by the experiments of J. Late in the nineteenth century physicists were working hard to understand the properties of electricity and the nature of matter. Thomson, the Discovery of the Electron, and the Study of Atomic Structure Overview
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |