Pioneer Student Work

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Pioneer: J.J. Thomson (Tyler - 4th Grade)

Description: 4th Grade Tyler's picture to accompany his report on pioneer J.J. Thomson. Image courtesy of: Heritage Gateway Project Images, These images have been gathered to support the Sesquicentennial celebration of the immigration to Utah.

J.J. Thomson was an English physicist. A century ago in England, April 30 1897, he was interested in the strange rays that made the vacuum tubes glow. He identified a new ingredient of matter, an electron. The discovery of the electron changed the world and human understanding of the universe. Without electrons which carry electricity, there would be no computers, television, radios, fax machines, e-mail messages, photocopiers, stereos, home applicances, telephones, or any other electronics. Modern chemistry and physics would not exist. Even worse, if there were no electrons, there couldn't be a universe, at least not one like ours. Thomson was certainly a pioneer. His preparation and perseverance made our modern life possible.

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