Question

1. What is the nature of charge on cathode rays?
2. Give five characteristics of cathode rays.​

Answer 1

In 1897, British physicist J. J. Thomson showed that cathode rays were composed of a previously unknown negatively charged particle, which was later named the electron. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) use a focused beam of electrons deflected by electric or magnetic fields to render an image on a screen.

1.       Cathode rays travel in straight lines.

2.       These rays are deflected by electric field. This is obvious because these rays are nothing but electrons.

3.       These rays travel normally from the surface of cathode.

4.       The direction of these rays is independent from the position of the anode.

5.       These rays are independent of the nature of the gas and electrodes placed in the discharge tube.