Flash of the Cathode Rays

This book presents the discovery of the electron and its role as the first subatomic particle in nature. It traces the evolution of the concept of electrical charge, from the earliest glow discharge studies to the final cathode ray and oil drop experiments of J.J. Thomson and Robert Millikan. The book also covers the history of modern physics, the continental and English race for the source of the cathode rays, Millikan's unambiguous isolation of the electron, the birth of Ernest Rutherford's nuclear atom, and the discovery of radioactivity in 1896. The author also focuses on numerous historical controversies.