Re: cathode rays - historical question

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

On 04/06/2003 07:20 PM, D.V.N.Sarma wrote:
> J.J.Thomson discovered electrons (of course as particles).

That is the conventional story, but it is a
tremendous oversimplification and distortion.

See e.g.
  http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1905/press.html
which discusses electrons as particles without even
mentioning Thomson.

Contrast that with Thomson's citation
  http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1906/press.html
which mentions electrons but doesn't credit
him with the discovery thereof.

> It was G.P.Thompson who showed their wave nature and
> shared the Nobel prize for this with Davisson and Germer.

BTW, that name is also spelled "Thomson".
  http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1937/press.html

The sameness of the spellings is not a coincidence.

============

As Kuhn pointed out, the history of physics as
presented in typical physics books is bogus.

Physics training does not make you a competent
historian.