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Q:
How was the crooks tube (spelling?) used in the discovery of the atom?
- Chris Miller (age 15)
Kettle Moraine High School
A:
Crooks invented the Crooks tube that led to the development of the
cathode ray tube. This was important in the discovery of the atom
because J.J. Thompson used the cathode ray tube when testing out his
plum pudding model. The crooks tube was designed to deflect the cathode
rays in a magnetic field. The electrons pass through a horizontal slit
at the right end and can be seen on the fluorescent screen.
With
the use of the cathode ray tube, J.J. Thompson proposed the plum
pudding model, that atoms of both positive and negative charges that
were evenly distributed made up the atom, when he observed that a
stream of negatively charged particles would flow through the tube no
matter what gas was used.
Gloria
(published on 10/22/2007)
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