"father of nuclear age"
While collaborating with JJ Thomson- Rutherford looked at ion producing radiations. He labeled the two radiations types he found, alpha and beta. Alpha particle resembled the nucleus in a helium atom and the beta particle resembled an electron. He found that when alpha and beta charges were released at the same time they caused a chemical change across atoms. After experimentation with alpha particles, he made the discovery that "the total mass of an atom is concentrated in the atoms nucleus." After this discovery he paved a path for the "nuclear model, nuclear physics, and the potential atom bombs." Ernest Rutherford was presented with the nobel peace prize for chemistry in 1908.
more info on rutherford...
- Family called him "Ern"
- 4th out of 12 children
- Died of a hernia
- At age 10, conducted his first science experiment