I.
Cathode Rays and the Discovery of Electron
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William Crookes, heir at an early
age to a large fortune, carried out his investigations in a private laboratory.
His studies of electrical discharges in gases, which followed the development
of the cathode ray tube by Pluecker and Hittorf, and his observations of
cathode rays and the dark space at the cathode led to the discovery of x-rays
and of the electron. Crookes also invented the radiometer, whose eventual
explication verified the kinetic theory of gases. Curiously, Crookes was a
believer in the occult and in the 1870’s claimed to have verified the
authenticity of psychic phenomena. Later he became involved in the Theosophical
Movement and there are references to his having exorcised demons. In 1897
Crookes was knighted by Queen Victoria (who is also reputed to have had an
interest in the occult) and in 1909 was elected president of the Royal Society.
