As soon as J.J. Thomson accepted the offer to study at Cavendish Labs, he immediately picked up on James Clark Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism. This states that electricity and magnets are interrelated, and if you induce changes in one, then it will make equal changes in the other. At the beginning of his studies, J.J. was at a very fortunate time because it was at the turning point for physics. This allowed him to make new discoveries, and the opportunity to make his mark on the scientific world.
Experiments
Thomson’s first major experiment, like many others, involved the cathode ray. This first experiment was to test whether the negative charge could be separated by magnetism. After building the cathode ray, he conducted the experiment and concluded that they could be separated by magnetism. His second experiment was to find out whether the cathode ray would bend as it traveled through a magnetic field, and this too he found true after he perfected others attempt at this.
Thomson is mostly know for one of his discoveries; the electron. Though at this day and age, this seems like common knowledge in our science classes, at the time was one of the biggest discoveries. This opened the gates and began the race to find out more about electrons and atoms. This discovery also landed Thomson a Nobel Prize.