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Thomson performed an experiment using cathode rays to determine the ratio of the charge of cathode rays to their mass.Experimental aim: Thomson, through this experiment, calculated the charge to mass ratio ( q/m) of cathode rays.It also showed that the ray was produced from the cathode.This supported the particle side of the controversy as electromagnetic waves are massless. When the glass wheel was struck by the cathode ray, the glass wheel slowly rotated, indicating that the cathode rays have momentum and therefore mass.With electric plates, the rays always were deflected towards the positive plate, indicating that the cathode ray has a negative charge.
Similar to light, cathode rays can also cast shadows.A perfect shadow of the maltese cross was formed on the far end of the tube, indicating that cathode rays travel in straight lines like light.
A maltese cross was placed in the path of the cathode ray in a cathode ray tube. Solid objects such as a paddle wheel placed inside the tube can block the ray off. Electrical and magnetic fields can be placed inside or outside the tube to deflect the rays. Cathode ray tubes allowed the manipulation of a stream of charged particles:. The atoms become excited then release photons of visible light. These are caused by cathode rays striking atoms in the air inside the tube. These observations are results of spectroscopy. At different air pressures, different bright effects appear in the tubes for example bands, striations and dark spaces. High voltages applied to the electrodes of a cathode ray tube results in cathode rays flowing from the cathode (-) to the anode (+). It emanates from the cathode and travels in a straight lineĬathode ray tubes allow the manipulation of a stream of charged particles They are identical, regardless of material used Observations from the experiments confused some scientists as the rays showed properties of both the wave and particles. After Cathode Ray was discovered in 1855, many experiments were done with them in order to understand their nature. However, at reduced pressure, air becomes conductive.Īre cathode rays charged particles or electromagnetic waves? Under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, air acts as an insulator. The high voltage is essential to overcome the poor conductivity of a near vacuum environment (most likely gas). When a high voltage is connected between the electrodes, an invisible ray (cathode ray) travels from the cathode to the anode. The positive electrode is the anode, and the negative electrode is the cathode. By the end of the 19 th Century, vacuum pumps were perfected, and glass tubes were being made. Investigation of vacuum tubes could not occur until good vacuum pumps had been invented. Cathode rays were produced in cathode ray tubes which are vacuum tube is a discharge tube consisting of two electrodes enclosed within a sealed glass or metallic chamber, from which the air has been withdrawn to create a near-vacuum environment. – Millikan's oil drop experiment (ACSPH026) What are cathode rays? – early experiments examining the nature of cathode rays investigate, assess and model the experimental evidence supporting the existence and properties of the electron, including:.