Ask a Teacher

Search



who is rudher ford?
Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics, was an excellent experimenter and a brilliant inventor. His greatest contribution to physics was the discovery of the atomic nucleus. Through his experiment of bouncing alpha particles off of a thin gold sheet, he concluded that the atom had a very powerful center, "the nucleus." Rutherford stated, "It was as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a sheet of tissue paper and it came back and hit you." From this observation, he was able to calculate the size of the nucleus. This discovery, has quoted by David Eliot Brody and Arnold Brody, "marks the beginning of the modern understanding of the structure of the atom." Rutherford also discovered that heavy atoms tend to decay spontaneously into lighter atoms. With this observation, he conducted an experiment in which he artificially transformed a nitrogen atom into an oxygen atom. Through this experiment, he became the first person to create a nuclear reaction. Rutherford was also a great inventor. He invented a system of detecting submarines during World War I. He also came up with a way of measuring vibrations made from streetcars and made it possible for trains to signal to stations using wireless telegraphy. Another important invention was his machine that could measure time differences of up to one hundred-thousandths of a second. It is impossible to elaborate on all the wonderful experiments and inventions Rutherford conducted. He obviously dedicated his life to research, experiments, and creating new methods to solve unanswered problems in the science world.



comments powered by Disqus