cathode ray discharge tube

ELECTRON:

                       Electron was discovered by J. J. Thomson in 1897 when he was studying the properties of cathode ray.

                        Cathode ray tube:          J. J. Thomson constructed a glass tube which was partially evacuated i.e. much of the air was pumped out of the tube. Then he applied a high electrical voltage between two electrodes at either end of the tube. He detected that a stream of particle (ray) was coming out from the negatively charged electrode (cathode) to positively charged electrode (anode). This ray is called cathode ray and the whole construction is called cathode ray tube.

Cathode rays show the following properties:

1. Cathode rays travel in straight lines. That is why, cathode rays cast shadow of any solid object placed in their path. The path cathode rays travel is not affected by the position of the anode.

2. Cathode rays consist of matter particles, and posses energy by the virtue of its mass and velocity. Cathode rays set a paddle wheel into motion when it is placed in the path of these rays one the bladder of the paddle wheel.

3. Cathode rays consist of negatively charged particles. When cathode rays are subjected to an electrical field, these get deflected towards the positively charge plate(Anode). 

  We know that a positively charged body would attract only a negatively charged body, therefore the particles of cathode rays carry negative charge.

Cathode rays also get deflected when these are subjected to a strong magnetic field.

Cathode rays heat the object only which they fall. The cathode ray particles possess kinetic energy. When these particles strike an object, a part of the kinetic energy is transferred to the object. The causes a rise in the temperature of the object.

5. Cathode rays cause green fluorescence on glass surface, i.e., the glass surface only which the cathode rays strike show a colored shine.

6. Cathode rays can penetrate through thin metallic sheets.

7. Cathode rays ionize the gases through which they travel.

8. Cathode rays when fall only certain metals such as copper, but rays produced. The X-rays are not deflected by electrical or magnetic fields. X-rays pass through opaque materials such as black paper, but stopped by solid objects such as bones.

9. Cathode rays travel with speed nearly equal to that of light.

J. J. Thomson measured the charge-by-mass-ratio (e/m) of cathode ray particle using deflection in both electric and magnetic field.

e/m=  −1.76×108 coulomb per gram

The cathode ray particle turned out to be 2000 times lighter than hydrogen.

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