Question

how would you say that stram of rays flow from cathode to anode? how would you say that cathode ays trave in a straight line? Explain it.

Answer 1

In the discharge tube experiment, it was discovered that that the glowing of the tube is due to the bombardment of of the glass by certain rays emitted from the cathode. These rays moved from the cathode towards anode in the form of streaks of light . The flow of current from cathode to anode was further checked by making a hole in the anode and coating the tube behind anode with fluoroscent material zinc sulphide. When these rays after passing through anode strike the zinc sulphide coating, a bright spot on the coating is developed. These rays were named cathode rays because they originated from cathode.

The cathode rays start from cathode and move towards anode. Whenever an object is placed inside the tube, it casts a shadow on the wall opposite to the cathode. During this experiment , the gas fluoresces only in regions outside the shadow. This experiment showed that the cathode rays travel in straight lines. Further , since the shadow falls on the wall opposite to the cathode, it shows that the rays travel from cathode towards the anode.