Ernest Rutherford

"All science is either physics or stamp collecting."

Time Period: 1871 - 1937

Background: Rutherford, the father of modern physics, was a student and later a professor at Cambridge University, where he met the great J. J. Thomson, who encouraged him to study recently-discovered x-rays. His early work with Thomson led to investigations of electricity and radiation and eventually to a detailed study of radioactivity. He received the Nobel prize for radioactivity in 1908.

Belief: Although Rutherford is mostly know for his exceptional work in the field of radioactivity, he was know in the atomic theory world for the work on the model of the atom, as well as the discovery of the nucleus. He came to a final plan of such: the atom was "a very small, tightly packed, charged nucleus sprinkled with opposite charges in the mostly empty surrounding void."

Contribution: Rutherford's contribution to radioactivity was immense, but more important to us, his discovery of the nucleus. As of now, the atom had been determined and the nucleus, protons, and electrons were discovered. A basic concept of the atom was established, and we are nearing the dawn of the 21st century.