Flash of the Cathode Rays: A History of J J Thomson's Electron

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 526 pages
• Published by: Taylor & Francis
• Edition: 1st Edition January 1, 1997
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0750304537
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0750304535
• Book Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 6.7 pounds

Product Review
a detailed and wide-ranging conceptual history of the electrona lively, riveting talea good read. -- Isis, Journal of the History of Science Society, June 2000

The author … writes in a lively, engaging manner that captures the reader's attention. … a useful and important book to commemorate Thomson's discovery.
-History of Physics Newsletter

The author … writes in a lively, engaging manner that captures the readers attention. … a useful and important book to commemorate Thomsons discovery.
-History of Physics Newsletter

This book chronicles the discovery of electrical discharge (conduction) phenomena that occur when high voltages are applied to gases … With its numerous notes, references, and complete indices, it is a great work of reference, to which I will refer often.
-Paul Zoller, The Discovery of the Electron

This book chronicles the discovery of electrical discharge (conduction) phenomena that occur when high voltages are applied to gases … With its numerous notes, references, and complete indices, it is a great work of reference, to which I will refer often.
-Paul Zoller, The Discovery of the Electron

… the hero of the book is Thomson and his wonderful insight into the negative character of the atom through glow discharge studies. The story of this fundamental aspect of nature and its significance through the incredible revolution in electrical technology is told in a compelling and gripping manner. Dahl has done a fine job in balancing the physics of the story with the history of the protagonists to give science a human face.
-Choice

… the hero of the book is Thomson and his wonderful insight into the negative character of the atom through glow discharge studies. The story of this fundamental aspect of nature and its significance through the incredible revolution in electrical technology is told in a compelling and gripping manner. Dahl has done a fine job in balancing the physics of the story with the history of the protagonists to give science a human face.
-Choice

Product Description
The electron is fundamental to almost all aspects of modern life, controlling the behavior of atoms and how they bind together to form gases, liquids, and solids. Flash of the Cathode Rays: A History of J.J. Thomson's Electron presents the compelling story of the discovery of the electron and its role as the first subatomic particle in nature. The book traces the evolution of the concept of electrical charge, from the earliest glow discharge studies to the final cathode ray and oil drop experiments of J.J. Thomson and Robert Millikan. It also provides an overview of the history of modern physics up to the advent of the old quantum theory around 1920. Consolidating scholarly material while incorporating new material discovered by the well-respected author, the book covers the continental and English race for the source of the cathode rays, culminating in Thomson's corpuscle in 1897. It explores the events leading to Millikan's unambiguous isolation of the electron and the simultaneous circumstances surrounding the birth of Ernest Rutherford's nuclear atom and the discovery of radioactivity in 1896. The author also focuses on the controversies over N-rays, Becquerel's positive electron, and the famous Ehrenhaft-Millikan dispute over subelectrons. Scholarly yet accessible to those with basic physics knowledge, this book should be of interest to historians of science, professional scientists and engineers, teachers and students of physics, and general readers interested in the development of modern physics.