Sir+William+Crookes+person

Sir William Crookes was a British Chemist who created an early version of an electrical discharge tube (which can be found in early television sets.) Crookes tube and others like it led to the discovery of cathode rays, or electrons. This tube consisted of an evacuaetd glass cylinder with two metal electrodes on either end. When high voltage is applied to the electrodes, electrons travel in a straight line from the cathode (electrode that sends electrons out of a polarized object) to the anode (sends electrons into the polarized object). Many rays miss the anode and create fluorescense against the glass, the behavior of the rays indicate that they travel in straight lines and put pressure on anything in their path. Crookes conducted many experiments with this tube which later led to the discovery of X-rays.