Ernest Rutherford, a chemist who studied radioactivity, won the Nobel Prize for his efforts in
1908. He was one of the firsts to believe and demonstrate that an atom involved a nucleus and
surrounding orbitals of particles (1). Rutherford, with his outstanding research abilities and his love
for experimentation, changed the course of modern chemistry.
Ernest Rutherford, born the fourth child of twelve, grew up in New Zealand on the South Island.
His mother, Martha, a native of England, taught school. His father, James, was from Scotland.
James among many things worked construction, logged, farmed flax and was a mechanical inventor
(1 and 4). Rutherford began his impressive higher learning schooling career at Nelson College in
New Zealand with a scholarship he earned from previous academic excellence. Next, he attended
Caterbury College on a scholarship where he achieved he bachelor’s degree in 1892 in the arts
(1). In 1893 and 1894, he also received his bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, physics and other
sciences. During this time Ernest met his future wife, Mary Newton. She was the daughter of a
woman he received lodging from. When they married, they had one daughter named Eileen, who
in turn married a lab assistant of Rutherford’s. Rutheford’s last year at Canterbury was directed
toward research of magnetism and radio waves (4). In his studies, he worked with the effects of
electromagnetic fields on iron.
From his profoundly admirable studies, he earned a scholarship and attended Trinity College at
Cambridge University (1). There he worked at the Cavendish Laboratory with J. J. Thomson on
the further investigation of electromagnetics. In 1896, again because of his impressive research at
Cavendish lab, Rutherford was invited to work with Thompson on the effects
of x-ray (4).
The following year, Rutherford began studying radioactivity with his concentration on uranium.
The characteristic of radioactivity was discovered by Henry Becquerel in 1896, only the previous
year (4). As Rutherford passed radiation through foil, the results that he gathered showed the
presence of two different kinds of particles (2). The particle that was absorbed Rutherford named
the alpha particle (4). The particle that was able to penetrate, he named the beta particle (4).
These particles were later known as the proton (alpha) and the electron
(beta).
As the next large step in his life, Ernest Rutherford not only accepted a position as a professor at
McGill University in Montreal, but also was named Second MacDonald Professor of Physics (1).
It was then that Rutherford’s research took flight. As well as studying uranium, he began to
experiment on the element thorium (1). This element is also radioactive. Rutherford, however
noticed that a strange gaseous substance escaped from the thorium which he called “an
emination” (2). He later realized that the emanation slowly decreased over time (1). This led to the
knowledge of radioactive half-lives. Rutherford joined in partnership Frederick Soddy to further
study the emanations of the radioactive elements. These two men seperated uranium and thorium
into the origionals and thorium X and uranium X, the daughter substances. They discovered that
the thorium X gradually receded in radioactivity while the origional thorium replenished itself back
to its origional form (1). The scientists discovered that the process by which the elements were
decreasing in radioactive activity was transmutation, or the gradual
decrease in atomic number (4).
Rutherford is not only known for his work with radioactive
elements. His research in the area of
atomic chemistry is profound. In 1906, Rutherford accepted a position as a physics professor at
Manchester University (1). With the university being in Great Britain, Rutherford was excited to
come back to the world’s science mecca. Hans Geiger, Charles Darwin (the grandson), Neils
Bohr, Ernest Marsden and H.G.J. Moseley joined Rutherford to investigate further the significance
of alpha particles (1). In his experiment, Rutherford concentrated a beam of particles at gold foil
and observed the reflection (1). It was then that he refuted the theory of the atom being nothing
but “plum pudding” as Thomson suggested. He theorized that the atom contained a dense nucleus
encircled by negative orbitals. To complement Rutherford's ideas, Marsden and Geiger worked
on the mathematical logistics of the theories, while Bohr developed this theory into quantum
physics. Rutherford's theory became the second and one of the more precise theories of how an
atom is comprised.
Among other discoveries and correct calculations, Rutherford correctly defined the number of
molecules in one mole of substance (6.022 x 1023).
In 1908, Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize
in chemistry for his efforts in preceding
years. Also, to add to the already remarkable resume of Ernest Rutherford, during the Second
World War (1914), was asked to serve on the Invention and Research Board of the British Navy
(1). He worked on the development of theories which are known today as sonar. These theories
were used in methods to identify enemy water vessels, in this case the
German U-boat (1).
Ernest Rutherford was undoubtedly one of the most
impressive scientists within the last two
hundred years. He was definitely blessed with the ability to work with the raw, unknown
questions of the sciences and piece things together beautifully in precise and accurate fashion. His
contributions to the scientific chemical world were so profound that his theories and experiments
are still used and marveled at today.
Works Cited - Source #
1. Notable Twentieth Century Scientists. Gale Research
Inc., Detroit, MI. Volume 3: pgs 1741-1744. 1995.
2. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Charles Scribner’s
Sons, New York. Volumes 11 and 12: pgs 25-34. 1981.
3. World Who’s Who in Science – From Antiquity to the Present.
Marquis – Who’s Who, Inc., Chicago, Illinois. First Edition: pg 1461.
1968.
4. Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 1901-1992. American Chemical
Society and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Pgs 49-58. 1993.