ELECTRON DISCOVERY

&
ITS PROPERTIES

Sir Joseph John Thomson

1856-140
English Physicist
discovered the first
subatomic
particles
proposed a model for the
structure
of the atom
Nobel Prize winning
Physicist

THE CATHODE RAY TUBE

EXPERIMENT
Towards the end of the 19th century
Joseph J. Thomson was studying
electric discharges at the well-known
Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge,
England.
Thomson made a series of
experiments to study the properties
of the rays coming from the cathode.
He observed that the cathode rays
were deflected by both electric and
magnetic fields - they were obviously
electrically charged.

Cathode ray- beam of electrons in a vacuum tube travelling

from the negatively charged electrode (cathode) at one end to
the positively charged electrode (anode) at the other, across a
voltage difference between the electrodes.

J.J

Thomson

was

able

to

conclude:

1. Cathode rays must be made of stuff that

is negatively charged
2. Particles that make up cathode rays are
1000 times smaller than a Hydrogen atom
3. All different metals give off cathode rays

ATOMS HAVE TINY

NEGATIVELY CHARGED
PARTICLES INSIDE THEM

ELECTRONS

PROPERTIES
OF

ELECTRON

Fundamental Properties of Electron

1. Charge: It is a negatively charged particle.
2. Magnitude of charge: Charge of electron is 1.6022 x 10-19 coulomb.
3. Mass of electron: Mass of electron or 9.11 x 10-31 kg (9.109 x 10-28 g)
4. Symbol of electron: Electron is represented by "e".
5. Location in the atom: Electrons revolve around the nucleus of atom in
different circular
orbits.

Robert A. Milikan
American Experimental
Physicist
determined the size of the
charge on an electron
received the Nobel Prize
for his work
(Oil drop experiment)

Fullness of knowledge always means

some understanding of the depths of
our ignorance; and that is always
conducive to
humility and reverence. - Milikan

Milikans Oil Drop Experiment

He devised a straightforward
method of measuring the
minute electric charge that is
present on many of the
droplets in an oil mist. The
force on any electric charge in
an electric fieldis equal to the
product of the charge and the
electric field. Millikan was able
to measure both the amount of
electric force and magnitude of
electric field on the tiny charge
of an isolated oil droplet and
from the data determine the
magnitude of the charge itself.

References:
http://www.citycollegiate.com/atomic_structureIXa.htm
http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/events/electron.html
https://www.aip.org/history/exhibits/electron/jjhome.htm
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/165/169289/blb9ch0202.html
http://www.rugusavay.com/robert-millikan-quotes/
https://www.britannica.com/science/Millikan-oil-drop-experiment
Chemistry (Connections to Our Changing World)
Introduction to Chemistry (Bauer-Birk-Marks)
Fundamentals of Chemistry (Brady/Holum)

Prepared by: Madelaine B. Ramos

BS Chemistry 3101