Thomson (family)
Thomson, the name of two English physicists, father and son. Both became Nobel laureates.
Sir Joseph John Thomson(1865-1940) was born near Manchester and was educated at Owens College and at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He was professor of experimental physics at Cambridge, 1884-1918. During these years he developed Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory into the world's foremost institution for research in experimental physics. Thomson was master of Trinity College, 1918-40.
Thomson received the 1906 Nobel Prize in physics for his study of the conduction of electricity through gases. The best-known result of this work was his demonstration, in 1897, of the existence of the electron, the first particle smaller than an atom to be discovered. In later experiments with positive ions, Thomson made the first direct observation of the existence of different isotopes of a stable element (neon); the apparatus he used forms the basis of most modern mass spectroscopes. He was knighted in 1908.
Sir George Paget Thomson(1892-1975), the son, shared the 1937 Nobel Prize in physics with Clinton J. Davisson of the United States. In 1927 both men, working separately, discovered the diffraction of electrons by crystals, proving that electrons have wave properties in addition to their known behavior as particles. This discovery enabled scientists to use electrons as tools to investigate the structure of surface layers, thin films, and gases.
During World War II, Thomson headed a British committee on atomic energy that in 1941 reported that it was feasible to build an atomic bomb. After the war he concentrated on experiments dealing with nuclear fusion.
Thomson was born in Cambridge and was educated at Cambridge University. He served as professor of natural philosophy at the University of Aberdeen (1922-30), professor of physics at Imperial College, University of London (1930-1952), and master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (1952-62). He was knighted in 1943.