Glimpses of Canadian History, one vibrant moment at a time
  • Home
  • Admin
  • About me

Dr. Ernest Rutherford: Nuclear Physicist

  • By Susanna McLeod
  • May-18-2014
  • Fascinating Canadian History
  • Comments Off on Dr. Ernest Rutherford: Nuclear Physicist

Arriving from New Zealand in 1898, Rutherford dove into research in the Montreal, Quebec lab, initiating major discoveries that enlarged the field of nuclear physics.

A physics expert trained under scholarship at Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory in England, Ernest Rutherford was stymied in furthering his research. It wasn’t a lack of skills nor was it money that was the problem – it was his age. At 26, he was too young under Cambridge rules to promote to full researcher status.

Around the same time, Rutherford was offered the tempting position of McDonald Professor of Experimental Physics at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. The young physicist considered the advantages – full professorship in a research position, the newest, best-equipped and finest facilities in the world, according to McGill University, and excellent remuneration of $2,500 per year. Rutherford accepted the post and sailed for Canada in the fall of 1898. (And Cavendish changed their rules then, too, permitting advancement of younger professors.)

Alpha and Beta Rays                                  Ernest Rutherford

Rutherford made great leaps in progress at McGill. Using Becquerel Rays, a method of ionization found in 1896, Rutherford’s immediate findings in Canada were the non-penetrating alpha and penetrating beta rays. Radon, the product emitted by radium and thorium, was another Rutherford breakthrough.(Radon is a radioactive gas without colour, taste or odor, and is noted as a leading cause of lung cancer by the Canadian Cancer Society.)

With the collaboration of Professor Frederick Soddy, who had arrived at McGill from England in 1900, Rutherford made a discovery in 1902 that would change the world of atomic physics: the disintegration theory of the atom.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The theory concluded “that atoms could be transformed and that each atom potentially crried a tremendous amount of energy,” noted McGill University. This science-altering discovery lead to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 for Rutherford. (Soddy earned the Nobel Prize in 1921.) Rutherford, said The World and I, told friends that “the fastest transformation he knew of was his own transformation from a physicist to a chemist.”

Another conclusion reached by Rutherford was the first inkling of radioactive dating – he suggested that if “the decay rate were known, and the relative proportions of lead and uranium in a sample were measured, it should be possible to date minerals.” While in Canada, Rutherford authored and co-authored 69 papers on the burgeoning and fascinating science of nuclear physics.

Rumford Medal

Rutherford Atomic Model, 1911The Royal Society of London awarded Professor Rutherford the prominent Rumford Medal in 1904 for his discovery of atomic disintegration. Becoming dissatisfied with being so far from the European science community, Rutherford readily accepted a post at the University of Manchester, England in 1907. Four years later, he made another major discovery – the nucleus of the atom.

Rutherford received a number of accolades for his work and held prestigious positions:, among them, President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society, and a member of the Order of Merit.

Rutherford Family

The fourth child in a family of twelve, Ernest Rutherford was born in 1871 near Nelson on the South Island of New Zealand. He married the daughter of his New Zealand landlady, Mary Georgina Newton, in 1900 and brought his bride to live in Montreal. The Rutherfords had one daughter, Eileen: like her mother, she also married a physicist when she grew up.

Knighted for his immense efforts and later bestowed the title of Baron Rutherford of Nelson, Sir Ernest Rutherford died in Cambridge, England on October 19,1937. He was known, according to Collections Canada, as “energetic, robust and dynamic” with a “compelling personality possessed of a bright lively nature.“ His discovery of nuclear physics fundamentals changed the lives of Canadians and people around the world, and changed the course of scientific history.

For more on Sir Ernest Rutherford, visit Rutherford.

This article first appeared on Suite101.com in 2008.  Copyright Susanna McLeod

 

Comments

← Previous Post Next Post →

Categories

  • Fascinating Canadian History
  • Those Canadian Women, they got this

Search:

Archives

  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
About This Site

A cras tincidunt, ut tellus et. Gravida scel ipsum sed iaculis, nunc non nam. Placerat sed phase llus, purus purus elit.

Archives Widget
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
Categories
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Jobs & Lifestyle
Search

Powered by WordPress  |  Business Directory by InkThemes.