ABSTRACT
Two threads of scientific development - one fundamental, the other technological - can be traced back to the discovery of the electron. The first of these, namely the search for elementary particles (including an understanding of their properties and interactions), grew from modest beginnings in Thomson's evacuated tubes into a major research field requiring large and expensive particle accelerators. The second, the 'electronics revolution', has seen the invention and development of a variety of devices, notably the valve, transistor and integrated circuits, which have transformed both science and society via their applications in instrumentation, communication, television and electronic computers.
