Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born physicist who lived between 1871-1937. He is called the father of nuclear physics because of his studies on the structure of an atom. Rutherford believed that an atom is like a small planetary system, with the protons and neutrons in the center (like the sun), circled by electrons (like planets). |
Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born physicist who lived between 1871-1937. He is considered the father of nuclear physics because of his discoveries on atomic structure. Rutherford believed that an atom is like a small planetary system, with the protons and neutrons in the center (like the sun), circled by electrons (like planets). Rutherford also studied radioactivity. He named and identified alpha and beta particles, and showed how an element changes when it experiences radioactive decay. |
Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand-born physicist who lived between 1871-1937. He is considered the father of nuclear physics because of his theories on atomic structure. Rutherford discovered that protons are concentrated at the center of an atom when he fired alpha particles at a thin metal foil and had them bounce back. He said it was as if "you had fired a 15-inch naval shell at a piece of tissue paper and the shell came right back and hit you". Rutherford also named and characterized alpha and beta radiation, and showed how an element changes when it experiences radioactive decay. Rutherford was more famous among his peers for his research in radio-waves. His experiments were the first to investigate "wireless" communication, years before the pioneers in the industry. The room used for his experiments is now a memorial, dedicated to the radio-wave research.
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