Rutherford Ernest (years of life: 08/30/1871 - 10/19/1937) - English physicist, creator of the planetary model of the atom, founder of nuclear physics. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, and from 1925 to 1930 - and its president. This man is the winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, which he received in 1908.
The future scientist was born into the family of James Rutherford, a wheeled master, and Martha Thompson, a teacher. In addition to him, the family had 5 daughters and 6 sons.
Training and first rewards
Before the family moved from the South Island of New Zealand to the North in 1889, Rutherford Ernest studied in Christchurch at Canterbury College. Already at that time, the brilliant abilities of the future scientist were revealed. After completing the 4th year, Ernest was awarded the prize for the best work in the field of mathematics, and also took 1st place at the master's exams in physics and mathematics.
The invention of the magnetic detector
After becoming a master of arts, Rutherford did not leave college. He plunged into independent scientific work on the magnetization of iron. He developed and manufactured a special device - a magnetic detector, which became one of the world's first receivers of electromagnetic waves, as well as Rutherford's "entrance ticket" to big science. An important change soon occurred in his life.
Rutherford leaves for England
The most gifted young subjects of the English crown from New Zealand were granted a biennial scholarship to them. The World Exhibition of 1851, which made it possible to go to England to study sciences. In 1895, it was decided that two New Zealanders deserve such an honor - physicist Rutherford and chemist Macloren. However, there was only one place, and Ernest's hopes collapsed. Fortunately, Macloren was forced to refuse this trip for family reasons, and Rutherford Ernest arrived in England in the fall of 1895. Here he began work at the University of Cambridge (in the Cavendishev Laboratory) and became the first doctoral student of J. Thomson, its director (pictured below).
The study of Becquerel rays
Thomson by that time was already a famous scientist, one of the members of the respected Royal Society of London. He appreciated Rutherford's abilities quickly and brought him to work on the study of gas ionization under the influence of x-rays, which he conducted. However, already in 1898, in the summer, Ernest made his first steps in another field of study. He became interested in the "Becquerel rays." The radiation of uranium salt, discovered by Becquerel, a physicist from France, later became known as radioactive. The French scientist, as well as the Curie spouses, were actively engaged in its study. In 1898, Rutherford Ernest also joined the work. This scientist discovered that these rays include fluxes of helium nuclei, positively charged (alpha particles), as well as fluxes of electrons (beta particles).
Further study of uranium rays
The work of the Curie spouses was submitted to the Paris Academy of Sciences on July 18, 1898, which aroused great interest of Rutherford. In it, the authors pointed out that in addition to uranium there are other radioactive (this term was used for the first time precisely then) elements. Rutherford later introduced the concept of half-life , one of the main distinguishing features of these elements.
Ernest in December 1897 extended the exhibition scholarship. The scientist got the opportunity to further study the rays of uranium. However, in April 1898, a professor at the local McGill University was vacated in Montreal, and Ernest decided to go to Canada. The time for apprenticeship has passed. It was clear to everyone that Rutherford was ready to work independently.
Moving to Canada and a new job
In the fall of 1898, a relocation to Canada took place. At first, Rutherford's teaching was not very successful: the students did not like the lectures that the young professor, who had not yet learned how to fully feel the audience, oversaturated with details. The scientific work also encountered some difficulties due to the fact that the arrival of the radioactive materials ordered by Rutherford was delayed. However, all the roughness was soon smoothed out, and for Ernest a streak of luck and success began. However, it is hardly appropriate to talk about successes: everything was achieved by hard work, in which his new friends and like-minded people were involved.
The discovery of the law of radioactive transformations
Around Rutherford, an atmosphere of creative enthusiasm and dedication had already formed. Labor was joyful and intense, it led to great success. Rutherford in 1899 discovered the emanation of thorium. Together with Soddy in 1902-1903, he came to a general law that applies to all radioactive transformations. It should be said in more detail about this important scientific event.
Scientists all over the world firmly learned at that time that it was impossible to turn some chemical elements into others, so you should forever bury the dreams of alchemists to mine gold from lead. And then a work appeared in which it was stated that during radioactive decays, the transformations of elements not only occur, but they cannot be slowed down or stopped. Moreover, the laws of these transformations were formulated. Today we understand that it is the charge of the nucleus that determines the chemical properties of the element and its position in the periodic table. When the nuclear charge decreases by two units , which occurs during alpha decay, it "moves" up 2 cells in the periodic table. It shifts one cell down with electron beta decay, and one cell up with positron decay. Despite the obviousness of this law and its apparent simplicity, this discovery was one of the most important events in the science of the early 20th century.
Marriage to Mary Georgina Newton, the birth of a daughter
At the same time, an important event took place in the personal life of Ernest. 5 years after the engagement with Mary Georgina, Newton married her scientist Ernest Rutherford, whose biography by this time was already marked by significant achievements. This girl was the daughter of the hostess of the Christchurch guesthouse where he once lived. In 1901, on March 30, the only daughter in the Rutherford family was born. This event almost coincided in time with the birth in physical science of a new chapter - nuclear physics. And after 2 years, Rutherford became a member of the Royal Society of London.
Rutherford books, experiments on translucent foil alpha particles
Ernest created 2 books in which he summarized the results of his scientific searches and achievements. The first came out under the name "Radioactivity" in 1904. "Radioactive transformations" appeared a year later. The author of these books began new research at this time. He realized that it was from the atoms that the radioactive radiation emanated, but the place of its origin remained absolutely unclear. It was necessary to study the structure of the kernel. And then Ernest turned to the method of transmission by alpha particles, with which he began his work with Thomson. The experiments studied how the flow of these particles passes through thin sheets of foil.
The first atomic model proposed by Thomson
The first atomic model was proposed when it became known that electrons have a negative charge. However, they enter atoms, which are generally electrically neutral. So in its composition should be something that carries a positive charge. To solve this problem, Thomson proposed the following model: an atom is something like a drop, positively charged, whose radius is one hundred millionth of a centimeter. Inside it there are tiny electrons with a negative charge. They strive under the influence of Coulomb forces to occupy a position in the very center of the atom, but if something unbalances them, they make oscillations accompanied by radiation. This model explained the existence of emission spectra - a fact that was known at that time. From experiments it has already become clear that in solids the distances between atoms are about the same as their sizes. Therefore, it seemed obvious that alpha particles cannot fly through the foil, just as a stone cannot fly through a forest in which trees grow almost close to each other. However, the first experiments performed by Rutherford convinced that this was not so. Most alpha particles, almost without deviation, penetrated the foil, and only some showed a deviation, sometimes significant. Ernest Rutherford was very interested in this. Interesting facts required further study.
Rutherford Planetary Model
And then Rutherford's intuition and the ability of this scientist to understand the language of nature reappeared. Ernest resolutely rejected the atomic model proposed by Thomson. Rutherford's experiments led to the fact that he put forward his own, which was called planetary. According to her, in the center of the atom is the nucleus, in which the entire mass of this atom is concentrated, despite its rather small size. And around the nucleus, like planets orbiting the sun, electrons move. Their mass is significantly less than that of alpha particles, and that is why the latter practically do not deviate when the electron clouds penetrate. And only when an alpha particle flies close to a positively charged nucleus, can the Coulomb repulsive force be able to sharply distort the trajectory of its motion. This is Rutherford's theory. Of course, this was a great discovery.
The laws of electrodynamics and the planetary model
Rutherford's experience was enough to convince many scientists of the existence of a planetary model. However, it turned out that it is not so straightforward. Rutherford's formula, which he derived based on this model, was consistent with the data obtained during the experiment. However, she refuted the laws of electrodynamics!
These laws, which were established mainly by the works of Maxwell and Faraday, argue that a charge that moves rapidly emits electromagnetic waves and loses energy because of this. In the Rutherford atom, an electron moves accelerated in the Coulomb field of the nucleus and, according to Maxwell's theory, it must lose all energy in a tenth of a millionth of a second, and then fall on the nucleus. However, this did not happen. Consequently, Rutherford's formula refuted Maxwell's theory. Ernest knew about this when in 1907 it was time to return to England.
Moving to Manchester and receiving the Nobel Prize
Ernest's work at McGill University made him very famous. Rutherford began vying to invite to research centers in different countries. The scientist in the spring of 1907 decided to leave Canada and arrived in Manchester, at the University of Victoria, where he continued his research. Together with H. Geiger, he created in 1908 an alpha particle counter - a new device that played an important role in clarifying that alpha particles are helium atoms that are twice ionized. Rutherford Ernest, whose discoveries were of great importance, received the Nobel Prize in 1908 (in chemistry, not physics!).
Collaboration with Niels Bohr
Meanwhile, the planetary model occupied his thoughts more and more. And in March 1912, Rutherford began to collaborate and make friends with Niels Bohr. Bohr's greatest achievement (his photo is presented below) was that he introduced fundamentally new features into the planetary model - the idea of quanta.
He put forward "postulates" that seemed at first glance internally contradictory. In his opinion, there are orbits in an atom. An electron moving along them does not emit, contrary to the laws of electrodynamics, although it has acceleration. This scientist pointed out the rule by which these orbits can be found. He found that radiation quanta appear only when an electron transfers from orbit to orbit. The Rutherford-Bohr atom model solved many problems, and also became a breakthrough into the world of new ideas. Its discovery led to a radical revision of ideas about matter, about its motion.
Further extensive activities
In 1919, Rutherford became a professor at Cambridge University, as well as director of the Cavendishev Laboratory. Dozens of scientists rightly considered him their teacher, including subsequently awarded Nobel Prizes. This is J. Chadwick, G. Mosley, M. Oliphant, J. Cockcroft, O. Gan, V. Geitler, Yu.B. Hariton, P.L. Kapitsa, G. Gamow and others. The stream of honors and awards was becoming more abundant. In 1914, Rutherford received the nobility. He became president of the British Association in 1923, and from 1925 to 1930 he was president of the Royal Society. Ernest receives the title of Baron in 1931 and becomes Lord. However, despite the increasingly high loads, and not only scientific ones, he continues to attack the secrets of the nucleus and atom.
We offer you one interesting fact related to the scientific activities of Rutherford. It is known that Ernest Rutherford used the following criterion when choosing employees: he gave the person who came to him for the first time a task, and if the new employee after that was interested in what to do next, he was immediately fired.
The scientist has already embarked on experiments that ended with his discovery of the artificial fission of atomic nuclei and the artificial transformation of chemical elements. In 1920, Rutherford predicted the existence of a deuteron and a neutron, and in 1933 he initiated and participated in an experiment to verify the relationship between energy and mass existing in nuclear processes. In 1932, in April, he supported the idea of using proton accelerators in the study of nuclear reactions.
Rutherford's death
The works of Ernest Rutherford and the work of his students from several generations had a tremendous influence on science and technology, on the lives of millions of people. The great scientist, of course, could not help but think about whether this influence would be positive. However, he was an optimist, firmly believed in science and in people. Ernest Rutherford, whose brief biography was described by us, died in 1937, October 19. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.