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Giessler Tubes is the generic name given to glass tubes with air vacuumed to different pressures. Other names for such tubes are Cathode Ray Tubes or Discharge Tubes. Throughout the years, these tubes were revised and improved. With each improvement, scientists got a step closer to understanding the structures of an atom.
Michael Faraday constructed the first cathode ray tube in the 1830s. He sealed a glass tube with a pair of metal plates at each end. While the metal plates were connected to a power supply, the air was vacuumed out to lower the pressure. Faraday noticed a low glow as the air pressure decreased.
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 light would move/deflect.
Also, like stated in the first video to the left, we began to see how these rays work. They glow in a straight path and cast a shadow when something is in their way.
Geissler Tubes are now useful to compare what pressure creates which color, or which type of gas emits which color.
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