J.J. Thompson And The Discovery Of The Electron

It is important for a potential reader to know what they are buying in this book. As the authors say, it is not a biography. A lengthy Foreword by David Thomson, J.J. Thomson's grandson, is the real biographical section of the book. It goes into detail about Thomson's childhood, where he lived, and his personal and family life. It includes a series of fascinating letters from Thomson to his future wife, Rose, and talks about his children and their father's influence on the family. Thomson was an extremely good-natured man who was excellent at dealing with those with whom he worked. His promotions to be the head of the Cavendish Laboratory and then Master of Trinity College point to his success in both managerial and personal relations and to his reputation in science. The Foreword is well done but set off from the text itself. Several of the highlights from the Foreword are also covered in the text but they are incidental to the main goal of the book - the scientific history of Thomson's work in physics. The book is roughly evenly divided between an historical explanation of Thomson's work and a full or partial reprinting of some of Thomson's most important papers. The latter includes his famous talk at the Royal Institution in 1897 in which he first discussed the discovery of "corpuscles," the name Thomson gave to what are now called electrons. The term "electron" was in use before that time but the meaning differed so significantly from what Thomson meant that he thought the new term was more effective. It was not a matter of pride or fame - Thomson had very little concern for that. It was, as always for Thomson, a matter of good science. (It was not until over a decade later that he himself began using the term "electron.") The book covers theories that Thomson had but gave up (if never completely) like his theory of vortex rings and his use of constructs like "Faraday tubes." It was Thomson's perseverance and his ability to work with other people that produced the great breakthrough - that certain behavior of particles in cathode rays was independent of the type of atoms used in the experiments and could only be explained by particles which themselves were part of all atoms regardless of what gas was used and which were much smaller than the atoms. His explanation resulted in what has been dubbed the "plum pudding" image of the atom with negative particles glued to some form of positive mass. Though soon modified by Thomson's student, Rutherford, Thomson's "corpuscles" were the beginning of subatomic physics. The authors do an excellent job of tracing both Thomson's theoretical and experimental work. But the reader needs to know that the book is written for a scientifically literate person with some background in physics. Given that, the book is a treasure house. The reproduction of Thomson's papers from his earliest years to his latest years graphically shows the development of atomic physics in the late 19th century. The authors are good writers but, in the text itself, perhaps a few more definitions would have helped before technical terminology is introduced. The general educated reader will need a scientific dictionary handy. Given this proviso, I highly recommend the book, especially for scientists who want an excellent background in the history of some of the critical work done in the early days of atomic physics.

It is important for a potential reader to know what they are buying in this book. As the authors say, it is not a biography. A lengthy Foreword by David Thomson, J.J. Thomson's grandson, is the real biographical section of the book. It goes into detail about Thomson's childhood, where he lived, and his personal and family life. It includes a series of fascinating letters from Thomson to his future wife, Rose, and talks about his children and their father's influence on the family. Thomson was an extremely good-natured man who was excellent at dealing with those with whom he worked. His promotions to be the head of the Cavendish Laboratory and then Master of Trinity College point to his success in both managerial and personal relations and to his reputation in science. The Foreword is well done but set off from the text itself. Several of the highlights from the Foreword are also covered in the text but they are incidental to the main goal of the book - the scientific history of Thomson's work in physics. The book is roughly evenly divided between an historical explanation of Thomson's work and a full or partial reprinting of some of Thomson's most important papers. The latter includes his famous talk at the Royal Institution in 1897 in which he first discussed the discovery of "corpuscles," the name Thomson gave to what are now called electrons. The term "electron" was in use before that time but the meaning differed so significantly from what Thomson meant that he thought the new term was more effective. It was not a matter of pride or fame - Thomson had very little concern for that. It was, as always for Thomson, a matter of good science. (It was not until over a decade later that he himself began using the term "electron.") The book covers theories that Thomson had but gave up (if never completely) like his theory of vortex rings and his use of constructs like "Faraday tubes." It was Thomson's perseverance and his ability to work with other people that produced the great breakthrough - that certain behavior of particles in cathode rays was independent of the type of atoms used in the experiments and could only be explained by particles which themselves were part of all atoms regardless of what gas was used and which were much smaller than the atoms. His explanation resulted in what has been dubbed the "plum pudding" image of the atom with negative particles glued to some form of positive mass. Though soon modified by Thomson's student, Rutherford, Thomson's "corpuscles" were the beginning of subatomic physics. The authors do an excellent job of tracing both Thomson's theoretical and experimental work. But the reader needs to know that the book is written for a scientifically literate person with some background in physics. Given that, the book is a treasure house. The reproduction of Thomson's papers from his earliest years to his latest years graphically shows the development of atomic physics in the late 19th century. The authors are good writers but, in the text itself, perhaps a few more definitions would have helped before technical terminology is introduced. The general educated reader will need a scientific dictionary handy. Given this proviso, I highly recommend the book, especially for scientists who want an excellent background in the history of some of the critical work done in the early days of atomic physics.