how were particles we can’t see with our eyes or a microscope discovered?

Question

I don’t get how we discovered particles and that are so small. What could’ve possibly lead to a discovery of it?

In: Physics

Answer 1

We don’t need to directly see something to be able to measure it or understand it. I mean, we can’t see, for example, electricity, but we understand exactly what it is and how it work. The key is that we measure the properties of things from the way they interact with other things, and from those interactions, we can understand what they are and how they work.

For example, take the electron. You can’t see an electron even with any kind of microscope, but we know plenty about electrons. Electrons were discovered by observing that cathode rays were deflected in the presence of electric or magnetic fields. By observing how much the rays bent in response to fields of specific strengths, scientists were able to infer that cathode rays were actually beams of negatively charged particles which we now know are electrons, and they were able to measure a number of the properties of electrons.