Accomplishments
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J.J. Thomson attempted to solve the argument on the nature
of cathode rays in 1897. For these investigations
he won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1906.
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In 1898, he theorized that the negative electrons in an atom
were like plums inside a 'pudding' of positive matter with the two charges
neutralizing each other. This helped to improve the theory of the atomic
structure and resulted in his being knighted in 1908
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In 1903, at his Silliman Lectures at Yale, Thomson had the
opportunity to expand his views on the behavior of subatomic particles
in natural phenomena when he suggested a discontinuous theory of light;
leading into Einstein's later theory of photons. He was recognized as a
great mind and in 1909 he was elected as the president of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science. In 1912 he received the Order of Merit.
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He held honorary doctorate degrees from the Universities
of Oxford, Dublin, London, Victoria, Columbia, Cambridge, Durham, Birmingham,
Göttingen, Leeds, Oslo, Sorbonne, Edinburgh, Reading, Princeton, Glasgow,
Johns Hopkins, Aberdeen, Athens, Cracow and Philadelphia.
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He was also an outstanding teacher. His importance in physics
depended almost as much on the work he inspired in others as on that which
he did himself. The group of men he gathered around him between 1895 and
1914 came from all over the world, and after working under him many accepted
professorships abroad. Seven of his research assistants as well as his
son, George, won Nobel Prizes for physics.
Sir George Paget Thomson
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