SS Component

Geissler Tubes is the generic name given to glass tubes with air vacuumed to different pressures. Throughout the years, these vacuumed tubes were revised and improved. With each improvement, scientists got a step closer to knowing and understanding the basics of an atom. The beginning of these tubes dates back to 1830s when Michael Faraday constructed the first Cathode-ray tube.

Michael Faraday sealed a glass tube with a pair of metal plates. While the metal plates were connected to a power supply, the air was vacuumed out to lower the pressure. Faraday noticed that when the pressure was low enough, the tube began to emit a low glow.

With the invention of these tubes, scientists were able to show that there was more to an atom than protons. In 1858, Julius Plucker noticed that when a magnet was brought close to the tube, the path of the emitted light would move deflect and move to the opposite side.