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Scientists & Mathematicians : Ernest Rutherford

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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.

The Collected Papers of Lord Rutherford of Nelson

This is the first of three volumes which together contain the complete range of Lord Rutherford's scientific papers, incorporating in addition addresses, general lectures, letters to editors, accounts of his scientific work and personal recollections by friends and colleagues. Volume one, first published in 1962, includes early papers written in New Zealand, at the Cavendish Laboratory and during the Montreal period (1894-1906), as well as an introduction to Rutherford's early work by Sir Edward Appleton, and some reminiscences of his time in Canada by Professors H.L. Bronson and Otto Hahn. In each volume can be found photographs of Rutherford and his collaborators, multiple graphs, tables, diagrams and charts, and also pictures of the original apparatus which is of historic interest.

The Collected Papers of Lord Rutherford of Nelson

This is the second of three volumes which together contain the complete range of Lord Rutherford's scientific papers, incorporating in addition addresses, general lectures, letters to editors, accounts of his scientific work and personal recollections by friends and colleagues. Volume two, first published in 1963, includes the papers published by Rutherford when professor of Physics at Manchester, 1907 to 1919. While the work of his laboratory ranged over the whole field of radioactivity, he himself devoted much effort to questions concerning the nature and properties of the α particle. Consideration of the scattering of α particles led him to the second of his outstanding achievements, the conception of the nuclear structure of the atom, which opened up a new era in Physics. In each volume can be found photographs of Rutherford and his collaborators, multiple graphs, tables, diagrams and charts, and also pictures of the original apparatus which is of historic interest.

The Collected Papers of Lord Rutherford of Nelson

This is the third of three volumes which together contain the complete range of Lord Rutherford's scientific papers, incorporating in addition addresses, general lectures, letters to editors, accounts of his scientific work and personal recollections by friends and colleagues. The final volume, first published in 1965, covers his period as Cavendish Professor from 1919 to 1937. Following on the immense fertility of his years in Manchester - only overshadowed towards the end by the war - we now turn to his last years as a world figure at the Cavendish Laboratory, where he continued his work on the properties of the α particle and the nature of the atom. In each volume can be found photographs of Rutherford and his collaborators, multiple graphs, tables, diagrams and charts, and also pictures of the original apparatus which is of historic interest.

Radioactive Decay

Discovery of the Nucleus/Uses of Radioactive Materials

Into the Heart of Matter

Online Resources

Looking Inside the Atom