Which British physicist showed in 1897 that cathode rays were composed of previously unknown negatively charged particles, later called electrons?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. J. J. Thomson
- Step 1: In 1897, J. J. Thomson showed that cathode rays were composed of previously unknown negatively charged particles, and he was appointed Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge on 22 December 1884. Answer: J. J. Thomson. Why not the others: Ernest Rutherford, James Chadwick and Paul Dirac don't fit.
Practise more Science and Inventions.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed General Knowledge (United Kingdom) mock tests.
More Science and Inventions questions
- Which scientist's work on its orbit and prediction of its return in 1758 gave his name to a famous comet?
- Which British chemist created Parkesine, the first man-made plastic?
- Which British inventor created the cat's eye road reflector in 1934?
- Which chemical did Joseph Lister introduce as a steriliser at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary?
- Which British-born physicist, born in Cambridge in 1942, shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries in macroscopic quantum pheno…
- Which English engineer is credited with co-creating the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930?