We know about electrons even though they are so small because in 1896, JJ Thomson did expiraments using cathode rays. Cathode rays concentrate electrons in a stream that can be seen through a vacuum tube. Cathode rays can also be seen through Crookes tubes, which sends electrons in straight lines from a cathode ray to form the shadow of an object. Johann Wilhelm Hittorf was the first to truly discover the electon though, he did this when he discovered that there was a glow from a cathode when he decreased the gas pressure in 1869. Hittorf used this discovery to advance scientific technology farther when he created the Cathode ray. This tool was later supplemented with William Crookes' vacuum tube for the cathode rays making the expiramentmuch more effective.
Over time, more expiraments have been done on the electron over time, to prove that they are negetive charge, and for us to learn more about them. We are still learning more about the electron as time goes on because our tools and technologies advance, opening doors for our knowlege of electrons to expand. These Cathode rays inside the Crookes tubes are what helped us discover electrons, in a broader category, we know about electrons, even though they are so small because of technological advances over time.
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