Rutherford Ernest: biography, experiments, discoveries

Rutherford Ernest (years of life: 30.08.1871 - 19.10.1937) - English physicist, creator of the planetary model of the atom, the founder of nuclear physics. He was a member of the Royal Society of London, and from 1925 to 1930 - and his president. This man is the owner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he received in 1908.

The future scientist was born in the family of James Rutherford, wheeled master, and Martha Thompson, a teacher. In addition to him, the family had 5 daughters and 6 sons.

Training and first awards

Before the family moved from the South Island of New Zealand to the North in 1889, Rutherford studied in Christchurch, at Canterbury College. Already at that time, the brilliant abilities of the future scientist were revealed. After the end of the 4th year, Ernest was awarded the prize for the best work in the field of mathematics, and also took the 1st place in the master's examinations in physics and mathematics.

The invention of a magnetic detector

Becoming a master of arts, Rutherford did not leave college. He immersed himself in an independent scientific work on the magnetization of iron. He designed and manufactured a special device - a magnetic detector, which became one of the first receivers of electromagnetic waves in the world, as well as Rutherford's "entrance ticket" into a large science. In his life, an important change took place soon.

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 gave the opportunity to go to England to study the sciences. In 1895 it was decided that two New Zealander deserve such an honor - physicist Rutherford and chemist Maclaurin. However, there was only one place, and Ernest's hopes fell. Fortunately, MacLaurin was forced by family circumstances to abandon this trip, and Rutherford Ernest in the autumn of 1895 arrived in England. Here he began work at the University of Cambridge (in the Cavendish Laboratory) and became the first doctoral student of J. Thomson, its director (pictured below).

Studying the rays of Becquerel

Thomson by that time was already a famous scientist, one of the members of the revered Royal Society of London. He evaluated the capabilities of Rutherford quickly and attracted him to the work on the study of the ionization of gases under the influence of X-rays, which he conducted. However, already in 1898, in the summer, Ernest makes his first steps in another area of research. He was interested in Becquerel's 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 couple, actively engaged in his research. In 1898, Ernest Rutherford joined in the work. This scientist discovered that these beams include streams of helium nuclei, positively charged (alpha particles), and electron fluxes (beta particles).

Further study of uranium

On July 18, 1898, the work of the Curie couple was presented to the Paris Academy of Sciences, 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 just then) elements. Rutherford later introduced the concept of a half-life - one of the main distinguishing features of these elements.

Ernest in December 1897 extended the exhibition scholarship. The scientist was given the opportunity to further study the uranium rays. However, in April 1898, the place of Professor of the local McGill University was vacated in Montreal, and Ernest decided to go to Canada. It's time for discipleship. It was clear to all that Rutherford was already ready to work independently.

Moving to Canada and a new job

In the autumn of 1898, a transfer to Canada took place. At first, Rutherford's teaching did not go very well: the students did not like the lectures that the young professor, who had not yet learned how to completely feel the audience, saturate the details. In scientific work, there were also some difficulties due to the fact that the arrival of radioactive preparations ordered by Rutherford was delayed. However, all the roughnesses were soon smoothed out, and for Ernest a series of successes and successes began. However, it is hardly appropriate to talk about success: everything was achieved by hard work, which involved his new friends and like-minded people.

The discovery of the law of radioactive transformations

Around Rutherford, even then, an atmosphere of creative enthusiasm and enthusiasm was formed. Work was joyful and tense, 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 applicable to all radioactive transformations. We should say a little more about this important scientific event.

Scientists around the world have firmly grasped at that time that it is impossible to turn some chemical elements into others, so it is necessary to bury the dreams of alchemists forever to extract gold from lead. And now there was a work in which it was asserted that in the course of radioactive decay, the transformation of elements not only takes place, but they can neither be slowed down nor 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 system of Mendeleyev. When the nuclear charge decreases by two units , which occurs during alpha decay, it "moves" upward by 2 cells in the periodic table. One cell down it is displaced by electronic beta decay, and on the cell upwards - with the positron. Despite the obviousness of this law and its seeming simplicity, this discovery was one of the most important events in the science of the early 20th century.

Marriage to Mary Georgine Newton, the birth of her daughter

At the same time, there was an important event in Ernest's personal life. Five years after the engagement with Mary Georgina Newton, the scientist Ernest Rutherford married her, whose biography had already been marked by significant achievements by that time. This girl was the daughter of the hostess of the boarding house in Christchurch, where he once lived. In 1901, on March 30, the only daughter in the family of the Rutherfords was born. This event almost coincided with the birth in physics of a new chapter - the physics of the nucleus. And two years later, Rutherford became a member of the Royal Society of London.

Rutherford's books, experiments on translucence of a foil by alpha particles

Ernest has created 2 books in which he summarized the results of his scientific research and achievements. The first came out under the name "Radioactivity" in 1904. "Radioactive transformations" appeared a year later. The author of these books began at that time new research. He realized that it was from the atoms that radioactive radiation emanated, but the place of its origin remained absolutely unclear. It was necessary to study the structure of the nucleus. And then Ernest turned to the method of transmission by alpha particles, with which he began his work with Thomson. In the experiments, we studied how the flow of these particles passes through thin sheets of foil.

The first atom model proposed by Thomson

The first model of the atom was proposed, when it became known that the electrons had a negative charge. However, they enter atoms that are generally electrically neutral. So there must be something in its composition that carries a positive charge. To solve this problem, Thomson proposed the following model: an atom is something like a drop positively charged, the radius of which is a hundred millionth of a centimeter. Inside it there are tiny electrons with a negative charge. They tend to occupy the position at the very center of the atom under the action of the Coulomb forces, but if something disturbs them, they oscillate, accompanied by radiation. This model explained the existence of radiation spectra - a fact that was known at that time. From experiments it became already clear that in solid bodies the distances between atoms are about the same as their dimensions. It seemed obvious, therefore, that alpha particles can not fly through the foil, just as a stone does not fly through a forest in which the trees grow close to each other. However, the very first experiments performed by Rutherford convinced that this was not so. Most of the alpha particles, almost deviating, permeated the foil, and only in some cases there was a deviation, sometimes significant. This is very interested in Ernest Rutherford. Interesting facts required further study.

Planetary model of Rutherford

And then Rutherford's intuition and the ability of this scientist to understand the language of nature again appeared. Ernest resolutely refused from the proposed Thomson model of the atom. Rutherford's experiments led to the fact that he put forward his own, called planetary. According to it, in the center of the atom there is a nucleus in which the entire mass of a given atom is concentrated, in spite of its rather small size. And around the nucleus, like the planets revolving around the sun, electrons move. Their masses are much smaller than for alpha particles, and that is why the latter practically do not deviate when electron clouds penetrate. And only when the alpha-particle flies past the nucleus, positively charged, the Coulomb repulsive force is capable of sharply curving the trajectory of its motion. This is the theory of Rutherford. Undoubtedly, it was a great discovery.

The laws of electrodynamics and the planetary model

Rutherford's experience was sufficient to convince many scientists of the existence of a planetary model. However, it turned out that it is not so unambiguous. The Rutherford 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 the charge, acceleratingly moving, emits electromagnetic waves and loses energy because of this. In the Rutherford atom, the electron moves in the Coulomb field of the nucleus accelerated and, according to Maxwell's theory, it must lose all energy in a ten-millionth of a second, then drop onto the nucleus. However, this did not happen. Consequently, Rutherford's formula disproved Maxwell's theory. Ernest knew this when in 1907 it was time to return to England.

Moving to Manchester and receiving the Nobel Prize

The work of Ernest at McGhil University contributed to the fact that he became very famous. Rutherford began vying to invite to the scientific centers of different countries. A scientist in the spring of 1907 decided to leave Canada and arrived in Manchester, at the University of Victoria, where he continued his studies. Together with H.Geiger, he created in 1908 an alpha particle counter - a new device that played an important role in determining that alpha particles are helium atoms that are twice ionized. Rutherford Ernest, whose discoveries were of great importance, in 1908 received the Nobel Prize (in chemistry, not in physics!).

Cooperation with Niels Bohr

Meanwhile, the planetary model occupied his thoughts more and more. And in March 1912, Rutherford began to cooperate and be friends with Niels Bohr. The greatest merit of Bohr (his photo is presented below) was that he introduced fundamentally new features in the planetary model - the idea of quanta.

He put forward "postulates", which seemed at first glance internally contradictory. In his opinion, there are orbits in the 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 you can find these orbits. He found out that the radiation quanta appear only when the electron passes from the orbit to the orbit. The model of the Rutherford-Bora atom solved many problems, and also became a breakthrough into the world of new ideas. Its discovery led to a radical revision of the ideas about matter, about its movement.

Further extensive activities

In 1919, Rutherford became a professor at Cambridge University, as well as director of the Cavendish Laboratory. Dozens of scientists rightly considered him their teacher, including subsequently awarded the Nobel Prizes. They are J. Chadwick, G. Mosley, M. Oliphant, J. Cockroft, O. Gan, W. Geithler, Yu.B. Khariton, PL Kapitsa, G. Gamow and others. The flow of honors and awards became more abundant. In 1914, Rutherford receives the nobility. He became president of the British Association in 1923, and from 1925 to 1930 he was president of the Royal Society. The title of baron Ernest receives in 1931 and becomes a lord. However, despite ever higher pressures, and not only scientific, he continues to attack the secrets of the nucleus and atom.

We offer you one interesting fact related to the scientific work of Rutherford. It is known that Ernest Rutherford used the following criterion when he chose his own employees: he gave the person who came to him for the first time an assignment, and if the new employee was then interested in what to do next, he was immediately fired.

The scientist has already begun experiments that ended with the discovery of an artificial splitting of atomic nuclei and the artificial conversion 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 existing interconnection between energy and mass in nuclear processes. In 1932, in April, he supported the idea of using proton accelerators in the study of nuclear reactions.

Death of Rutherford

A huge influence on science and technology, on the lives of millions of people was provided by the works of Ernest Rutherford and the work of his pupils belonging to several generations. The great scientist, of course, could not help thinking about whether this influence would be positive. However, he was an optimist, he firmly believed in science and in people. Ernest Rutherford, whose brief biography we described, died in 1937, on October 19. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.