1924, Electrons' Wave Nature

Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

Year: 1924
Chemist: Louis de Broglie
Contribution: Discovered the Wave Nature of Electrons

Louis de Broglie's 1924 activities included publishing material on his studies, where he discovered the wave nature of electrons and suggested all matter has wave properties. Wave mechanics is based off this thesis, and has since revolutionized our knowledge of physical phenomena on the atomic scale.

Information Credits: Famous Scientists, Nobelprize.org

1909, The Charge and Mass of the Electron

Photo Credit: www.biography.com

Year: 1909
Chemist: Robert Millikan
Contribution: Determined the Charge and Mass of the Electron


By performing a series of oil drop experiments, Robert Millikan was able to establish the mass and charge of an electron.

Charge of an electron: e = 1.602 *10^-19 coulomb

Mass of  an electron: m = 9.11 *10^-28 grams

As J.J. Thomson suggested, electrons are in fact significantly smaller than the nucleus of the atom, but Millikan was able to calibrate Thomson's idea to the exact figures.

Information Credits: Atomic Structure Timeline, The Franklin Institute

1897, Discovery of Electrons

Photo credit: chemheritage.org

Year: 1897
Chemist: Joseph John Thomson
Contribution: Discovery of Electrons

By trade J.J. Thomson was actually a physicist, but that didn't keep him from discovering the electron in the year 1897 while studying electric discharges. He interpreted electrons as significantly smaller than the nucleus, and calculated a large charge-to-mass ratio.

Electrons, of course, are the  instigators of any chemical reaction by their exchange or allotment. Because of their vitality to the atom itself, their discovery was an important contribution as later chemists were better able to establish the structure of the atom.

Information Credit: Chemical Heritage Foundation