Ernest Rutherford: biography and contributions of this New Zealand physicist

Ernest Rutherford is one of the most recognized researchers in the field of physics, since his discoveries in this field were multiple.

He was especially interested in the experimental field, that is, in the practical verification of his beliefs, to later constitute the theories. His main contributions were the discovery of radioactive alpha, beta and gamma particles; the change in the nature of the radioactive element when it decays; and the proposal of a new structure of the atom, made up of a nucleus.

In this biography of Ernest Rutherford we will review the most relevant events in the life of this researcher and the most relevant contributions he made to science.

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Brief Biography of Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in Brightwater, New Zealand. He was the son of James Rutherford who was a farmer and Martha Thompson who was a teacher. His parents always wanted to give a good education to his many children, there were twelve of them being Ernest the fourth.

Youth and first years of training

From a very young age, his high capacities and his abilities in arithmetic have already stood out., being a rather curious child. In this way he was able to enter the Nelson College, where apart from his academic abilities he was able to develop in the same way his physical abilities as a rugby player.

After studying for three years at Nelson College he entered Canterbury College of higher education, where he continued to practice rugby and was able to attend science clubs.

During his stay at the University, his high abilities in the field of scientific experimentation began to be glimpsed, which, together with his always impeccable academic results, allowed her to continue with his training and research at the University of New Zealand during a period of five years.

Given his good grades, after graduating he was fortunate to receive the only scholarship in New Zealand to study mathematics, getting named Master of Arts for his good grades and participate in research in the field of mathematics and physics.

Later he obtained a bachelor of science degree in 1894, thus a year later he was able to continue his studies in Great Britain, neither more nor less than at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, run by Joseph John Thompson, who was recognized in the field of science for being the one who discovered the electron.

In the personal sphere, more specifically in the sentimental one, Before traveling and settling in Great Britain he became engaged to Mary Geordina Newton, a young woman he had met during his stay at Chriscruchs.

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Consolidation of his professional life in the scientific field

During the years that he was at Cambridge he continued with the study of electromagnetic waves and how they could be received at great distances. His career in the scientific field continued to advance, managing to present the results of his work before the Cambridge Physical Society and publishing these in the scientific journal Philosophical Transaction belonging to the Royal Society.

At the beginning of his stay too He began to investigate, together with his laboratory director, J.J. Thompson, the effects produced by x-rays projected at a gas, thus discovering that these rays could ionize the air giving rise to a high number of charged particles, which can be both positive and negative and recombining these giving rise to atoms neutral.

So he also devised a technique for the purpose of measuring the velocity of ions and their rate of recombination, a process contrary to ionization, where electrons unite with ions positive.

Given the continuous investigations and discoveries that he was achieving, the recognition of him in the scientific field was increasing. So that, In 1898 he was asked to practice as a teacher at McGill University in Montreal, Canada., where it will remain until 1907. This new change allowed him to finally marry his fiancee Mary Newton in 1900 in New Zealand. In 1901 he welcomed his first and only daughter, named Eileen.

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Research in the field of radioactivity

During his stay in Montreal he became interested in the study of radioactivity, since in 1896 the French physicist Henri Becquerel had discovered that uranium emitted a radiation not observed until that moment. Thus three years later in 1899 Rutherford studied how these uranium radiation could ionize the air, he observed the way in which the radiation penetrated different metallic sheets with which it enveloped the element radioactive.

In addition, he was able to observe and name three different types of radiation that uranium emitted: the one that penetrated the most, called beta, and the one that did less, called alpha, and a third called gamma, which emits very energetic rays.

His research would now focus on the chemical element thorium, discovering that it also emits radiation and that it decreases exponentially after a while, allowing him to present in 1900 a new concept: the period of radioactive elements.

Given these new discoveries, in 1902, together with Frederick Soddy, Rutherford concluded that thorium expels radioactive atoms and that this emission is related to a decay of the element chemical, thus formulating the theory of natural radioactivity, which explained the spontaneous transformation of the elements.

In 1904 the Royal Society awarded him the Rumford Medal, rewarding and recognizing the important discoveries that this scientist had achieved so far. In this same year he published the book entitled "Radioactivity" where, among other approaches, he demonstrated the uncertainty of the principle of unchangeability of matter, since the radioactive elements, as they emitted radiation, were transformed into a new element with different chemical characteristics.

Rutherford believed that disintegrations occurred in the Earth's core that would be responsible for keeping the planet's temperature constant. In this way he would collaborate with Otto Hahn, who discovered the nuclear fission of uranium and thorium.

In 1907 he moved to Manchester, as he was admitted as a professor at the University of this city. In this way she began to collaborate with Hans Geiger, and together they were able to detect alpha particles expelled by radioactive substances; From this line of research they were able to estimate Avogadro's number, which refers to the number of particles that make up a substance, in a more direct way.

It was a year later, in 1908, when he was able to confirm what he had previously assumed; that the alpha particles, already mentioned, when they get rid of their charge, become helium atoms. This discovery meant that that same year he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

One of his most important contributions to science was the formulation of a new atomic model in 1911, known as Rutherford's atomic model., where he proposes the existence of a nucleus in the atoms, which would be constituted by the charge positive and formed by almost all the mass, surrounded by a crust or shell of electrons, charge negative.

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World War I stage

During the period of the First World War (1914 -1918) the physicist focused on helping detect submarines using sound waves. After the war, already in 1919, he continued with the study of alpha particles and atoms, in this case nitrogen, observed how nitrogen is transformed into oxygen by absorbing alpha particles, thus achieving the first transmutation artificial.

On his return to Cambridge in 1919 he took over as director of the Cavendish Laboratory, succeeding J.J. Thomson. It is in this period when his contributions and influences in the field of nuclear physics were greatest.

Among the renowned physicists who studied in the laboratory during Rutherford's direction, it is worth highlighting James Chadwick, who discovered the existence of the neutron; Niels Bohr, who verified that Rutherford's atomic model was stable, and Robert Oppenheimer, considered the creator of the atomic bomb.

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Last years of life

During his stay at the Cavendish Laboratory, considered the most prosperous age of the physicist, the golden age, he also obtained multiple awards.

For five years (1925-1930) he was President of the Royal Society, a society where he was a member since 1903 and was awarded the Franklin Medal in 1924 and the Faraday Medal in 1936. In addition, in 1931 he was named Baron Rutherford of Nelson, already having the title of Sir since 1914. Although all these recognitions and joys would be truncated by the death of his only daughter, Eileen, in 1930, with only 29 years old.

Also during this period with James Chadwick and Charles Drummond Ellis he published the book "Radiation of radioactive substances" in 1930, and seven years later he wrote the work "The New Alchemy".

Ernest Rutherford died on October 19, 1937, after failing to fully recover and suddenly deteriorating from an operation. His remains were interred in Westminster Abbey, granting him a place of honor alongside Isaac Newton and William Thomson.