Discovery of Electron

Electron was discovered by English physicist J.J. Thomson in 1897 during his experiments with cathode rays.

He observed that the cathode rays were deflected by electric and magnetic fields, leading him to conclude that they were made of particles, which he called “corpuscles” and later termed “electrons.” The term “electron” was coined in 1891 by G. Johnstone Stoney.

Rutherford Electrons Model

Rutherford Model, proposed by physicist Ernest Rutherford in 1911, described an atom as having a tiny, dense, and positively charged core called the nucleus, around which the light, negative electrons, revolve at some distance, much like planets revolving around the Sun. This model was based on Rutherford’s famous gold foil experiment, in which he observed that most alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil, suggesting that atoms are mostly composed of open space, while a few were deflected, indicating interactions with other positively charged particles within the atom.

Bohr Electrons Model

Bohr Model, proposed by Niels Bohr in 1913, is a structural model of the atom that improved upon previous models using the principles of quantum theory. According to the Bohr model, electrons move around the nucleus of an atom in distinct circular orbits or shells, similar to how planets orbit around the Sun. The model is also known as the planetary model of the atom.

It introduced the concept that electrons can only exist in discrete shells with specific energy levels and cannot exist between these orbits. The Bohr model applies to hydrogen-like species containing one electron only, such as the hydrogen atom and singly ionized helium.

Electrons are subatomic particles that have an elementary charge of (-1) magnitude. The charge held by an electron is equal in magnitude and has the opposite sign to the charge carried by a proton. Electrons, Protons, and Neutrons are the fundamental particles that are made up of the entire universe.

In this article, we will look into Electron Definition. Discovery of Electrons, Application of Electrons, and others in detail.