{"title":"Joseph John Thomson investigates the paranormal.","authors":"Kevin M Downard","doi":"10.1177/14690667211050599","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Joseph John Thomson is best known for detecting two isotopes of neon within cathode ray tubes that lay the foundation of the field of mass spectrometry. He was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases in the same devices. He is less known for his strong religious beliefs and his interest in psychical research and the paranormal. Thomson served as a member of the Society for Psychical Research for over 50 years and even became its Vice President. During this time, he attended a number of séances and demonstrations by professed psychics and mediums. This article traces those who influenced his interest in the paranormal, from Balfour Stewart to Lord Rayleigh and William Crookes. It reports and illustrates his beliefs and experiences investigating the paranormal in his own words.</p>","PeriodicalId":1,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of Chemical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.4000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Accounts of Chemical Research","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14690667211050599","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2021/10/7 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Joseph John Thomson is best known for detecting two isotopes of neon within cathode ray tubes that lay the foundation of the field of mass spectrometry. He was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases in the same devices. He is less known for his strong religious beliefs and his interest in psychical research and the paranormal. Thomson served as a member of the Society for Psychical Research for over 50 years and even became its Vice President. During this time, he attended a number of séances and demonstrations by professed psychics and mediums. This article traces those who influenced his interest in the paranormal, from Balfour Stewart to Lord Rayleigh and William Crookes. It reports and illustrates his beliefs and experiences investigating the paranormal in his own words.
期刊介绍：
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.
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