Ernest Rutherford
Why is he important?
Work
- In the Physics and Chemistry field
- Worked at McGill University in Canada, University of Cambridge, and University of Manchester
- Discovered idea of radioactive half-life
- Credited with the first splitting of the atom in 1917
- Earned Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his theory of atomic structure in 1908
- Focused on nuclear reactions in his late career
Major Contributions
- Came up with Rutherford model of atom; said that their charge was in a small nucleus
- Most famous experiment happened after the Nobel Prize
- Experiment with Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsten called the Geiger-Marsten experiment, also called the Gold Foil Experiment
- It showed the nuclear nature of atoms by deflecting alpha particles passing through a thin gold foil
BIG IDEA: Came up with the nuclear structure of the atom