ABSTRACT
The prolific years 1885–1900 are noteworthy for advances in electrophysics, particularly discharges in vacua, the electron theory, electron emission from heated elements, photoelectric phenomena, electromagnetic waves, and X rays. Continuing studies of electricity in rarefied gases revealed the particulate nature of cathode rays, which led to a clearer understanding of electricity and of the structure of matter. Highlights are the discoveries of X rays by Röntgen (254) in 1895 and of the electron by Thomson (266) in 1897. These successes arose from experimental and theoretical work centered on cathode rays carried out by others, notably Goldstein (193), Schuster (197), Hertz (229), Lenard (239), Fitzgerald (240), and Perrin (252), as well as Thomson's earlier investigations (237) and the theories of Stoney (223) and their contemporaries.
