Who discovered protons? Based on what experiment was he able to discover these protons?
(i) Thomson took a cylindrical glass tube with two metal electrodes and it was partially evacuated. Then, he applied a high voltage of current at either end of the tube, which leads to a discharge of a ray from the negatively charged electrode (Cathode) going towards the positively charged electrode (anode).
(ii) The ray emitted is called a cathode ray.
(iii) Goldstein found that in a cathode ray tube, there were rays traveling in the opposite direction of cathode rays. He referred to these rays as canal rays and found that they were composed of only positively charged particles.
3. Hence, based on the cathode ray tube experiment, Goldstein was able to discover the protons.