FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Koblar Jackson, (517) 774-3310
By Mike Silverthorn; [email protected]
February 27, 1997
MODERN SCIENCE TRACES ITS ROOTS TO THE ELECTRON
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.--Sir Joseph Thomson's discovery of the
electron 100 years ago launched a new era of science that has led
to the development of synthetic fabrics and medicines,
fluorescent lighting, electronics ranging from televisions to
computers, and thousands of other devices.
"The discovery of the electron changed how scientists view and
understand the world. It was probably the most important event in
modern science," says Koblar Jackson, a Central Michigan
University physicist who is coordinating an April 9 symposium
that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the discovery.
The symposium, featuring four of the nation's leading
scientists, including one Nobel Laureate, will be broadcast live
via satellite to classrooms across North America.
"Until Thomson's time, the prevailing belief was that atoms
were the indivisible building blocks of matter," said Jackson.
"With the discovery of the electron, it became clear that atoms
had an internal structure themselves. Scientists found that atoms
consist of even smaller pieces, one of which is the electron.
"The discovery of the electron has led to new insights into the
inner workings of atoms, and these insights have given birth to
many new directions of scientific investigation," he said.
Among the main branches of 20th century science that stemmed
from the electron's discovery are atomic physics, condensed
matter physics, physical chemistry, nuclear physics and
elementary particle physics, said Jackson.
From these main limbs have sprouted other branches representing
new disciplines like materials science, biochemistry,
semiconductor science and nuclear engineering, he said.
With an increased understanding of how the world works at the
atomic level, the ability of scientists to control and manipulate
atoms has grown. The result, said Jackson, has been a tremendous
amount of new technology.
"For example, by understanding how atoms form chemical bonds,
which is the sharing of electrons between two atoms, chemists
have learned to produce synthetic materials of almost every
description, from the fabrics used to make clothes to medicine
and vitamins," said Jackson.
"From atomic physics we have fluorescent lighting and lasers;
from condensed matter physics we have the transistor and the
electronics industry, including everything from televisions and
radios to computers, electronic sensors, cell phones and
thousands of other devices," he said.
"Condensed matter physics also has given us solar energy and
rechargeable batteries. From materials science we have strong
lightweight alloys for use in airplane bodies and bicycle frames.
From nuclear physics we have nuclear energy and nuclear
medicine," he said.
Jackson added that biochemists are able to manipulate
biological materials at the atomic level, such as gene splicing
or the snipping out of genes from genetic materials, because
scientists understand how atoms work.
"These examples of applications help to illustrate the impact
science can have on technology and our everyday lives," he said.
Thomson discovered the electron in the Cavendish Lab at
Cambridge University in England in 1897. What Thomson actually
"discovered" was that different types of metal all contain
negatively charged particles that behaved in exactly the same way
in his experiemnts.
Thomson reasoned that the particles were all identical, and
that they were pieces of the atoms that made up the metals. Soon
after the identification of the negatively charged electrons,
scientists found other pieces of the atoms, including neutrons
and the positively charged protons.
The Electron Birthday Project at Central Michigan University
will commemorate the centennial of the electron's discovery by
surveying new advances in atomic-level science and exploring new
areas of technology that appear on the horizon. The guest
speakers are:
--Marvin Cohen, University Professor of Physics at the
University of California-Berkley and an authority on solid-state
physics and computer modeling;
--Roald Hoffmann, Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Chemistry at
Cornell University and 1981 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. He
will discuss applications of chemistry in industry;
--Max Lagally, E.W. Mueller Professor of Materials Science at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an authority in the use
of the scanning tunneling microscope, a device that views and
manipulates atoms. He will talk about experimental technology at
the atomic level;
--Judith Voet, professor of biochemistry at Swarthmore College
in Pennsylvania and an expert on enzymes. She uses computer
modeling techniques to study structural differences in enzymes.
"Students too often study science without really knowing what
is happening today,"
said Jackson. "We want to bring information to high school
students from the front lines of scientific research. What are
the big issues in science today? What impact does science have on
technology? How will it affect their future?
"Our goal is to reach 100,000 students across the country," he
said. "We want to describe some of the real problems that
scientists today are trying to solve. We want to convey the
excitement of scientific research and why it is worthwhile."
The Electron Birthday Project is sponsored by the National
Science Foundation, General Telephone (GTE) and CMU. For
information on downloading the free satellite broadcast, call
(517) 774-3487.
-mjs-
RSS