Reference
- Rutherford, Ernest (1871-1937) 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson: Credo ReferenceNew Zealand-born British physicist who first explained that radioactivity is produced by the disintegration of atoms and discovered that alpha particles consist of helium nuclei. For these achievements, Rutherford was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Rutherford went on to make two more discoveries of fundamental importance to nuclear physics: he was the first to determine the basic structure of the atom and show that it consists of a central nucleus surrounded by electrons, and he also produced the first artificial transformation, thereby changing one element into another.
Online Resources
- Ernest Rutherford, Avogadro's Number, and Chemical KineticsThe paper presents a way for students to use data from Rutherford's works (1908 - 1911) in order to determine one of the most precise values of Avogadro Constant available at the beginning of the century. A brief discussion of earlier and modern methods for the determination of this fundamental constant is followed by vast quotations from the works of Rutherford, Boltwood and Geiger. Then there are given a dozen of problems and questions for students about these classical experiments; they vary in complexity from rather simple to quite challenging. Additional information and hints are provided to help the students in solving the problems. The last part contains detailed answers and solutions to all problems. The article will be useful for students of general chemistry, radiochemistry and physical chemistry (kinetics).
- From isotopes to the stars: creating more exotic isotopes will reveal the stellar formation of atoms--a fitting tribute to Ernest RutherfordA hundred years have passed since Ernest Rutherford published his discovery of the atomic nucleus in May 1911 and started a journey to the centre of the atomic world. In Rutherford's famous experiment, a stream of a-particles was aimed at a very thin sheet of gold foil. Some of the particles were deflected at angles that suggested they had collided with a small, dense atomic core. As Rutherford remarked: "It was almost as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you." The experiment supported a planetary model of the atom--the idea that most of the mass is concentrated in a nucleus, with even smaller electrons orbiting it like planets around the Sun.
Streaming Media
- Into the Heart of MatterWith this lecture, you turn from relativity to explore the universe at the smallest scales. By the early 1900s, Ernest Rutherford and colleagues showed that atoms consist of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons whirling around it. But Rutherford's model could not explain all the observed phenomena.
- Rutherford: Discovery of the NucleusRutherford discovered that the power that makes the earth revolve around the sun also exists between nuclei and their electrons. His model of the atom resembles the solar system. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Perspectives
Ernest Rutherford
An engaging biography that captures the excitement of the early days of nuclear physics, Ernest Rutherford tells the story of the down-to-earth New Zealander who became one of the foremost pioneers of subatomic physics. Rutherford's achievements were numerous and included:* Inventing a detector for electromagnetic waves* Discovering the existence of alpha and beta rays in uranium radiation* Creating (with Frederick Soddy) the "disintegration theory" of radioactivity, which regards radioactive phenomena as atomic -- not molecular -- processes* Demonstrating that the inner structures of elements correspond with a group of lines that characterize them, which could then be assigned an atomic number and, more important, the properties of each element could be defined by this number* And his greatest contribution of all - he discovered that the atom had a nucleus and that it contained the positively charged protonFrom his early days as a scholarship student to the end of his life as he continued to work in his lab, Ernest Rutherford reveals the life and times of one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century.Oxford Portraits in Science is an on-going series of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.
