The time this was discovered was an incredible time of discovery, largely due to the new availability of high vacuum pumps and high voltage in glass. People wer

The time this was discovered was an incredible time of discovery, largely due to the new availability of high vacuum pumps and high voltage in glass. People were messing with these cathode ray tubes all over, and they led to so much. Roentgen found x-rays in 1895 in a high vacuum, high voltage glass tube. This led to the discovery of the electron and quantum physics at the time (and later, the double helical nature of DNA was found from xray diffraction). Following that work, Becquerel discovered natural radiation. Curie and Rutherford followed that up with nuclear physics, which eventually led to atomic warfare, radiation therapy, mars rover power supplies, and nuclear power stations. Meanwhile, CRTs also gave way to vacuum tube electronics like radios, amplified music, and large-scale telephone networks. And of course the TV. Man I love cathode ray tubes. Wrote a thing about them once: https://partofthething.com/thoughts/the-modern-era-passed-through-a-cathode-ray-tube/ https://partofthething.com/thoughts/the-modern-era-passed-th...