AA-S1: The nucleus and Lord Rutherford

This report will analyse and evaluate the key discoveries of Lord Ernest Rutherford. It will delve into his experiments, how he conducted them and the effects this had on science both of that era and how it has shaped science since. Rutherford was a New Zealand born chemist and physicist who was educated at Canterbury and later became known as the ‘father of nuclear physics’. 

Rutherford when he saw currant buns as a tasty treat.  Not an atom conducting a scientific experiment.

Rutherford’s key area of study was nuclear physics and one of his most famous discoveries was coined the Rutherford model. He postulated that atoms have a positive charge in the nucleus and conducted the gold foil experiment in which he split an atom and then split the nucleus in a controlled manner. 1909 was the year that turned the world of physics on its head. BOOM! (No not the sound of the atom splitting but the metaphorical sound wave that echoed through the world of physics).  On The morning of 29th March the dew had set but the atoms true characteristics had yet to be discovered.

Rutherford’s gold foil experiment.

That day the first beam of alpha particles generated by the radioactive decay of radium was fired at an atom thick sheet of gold which was surrounded by a circular sheet of zinc sulphide. Interestingly only a very small percentage of atoms were deflected off path concluding that the atoms were mainly space. The smaller number of deflections showed there the nucleus mass was delusional in comparison to its particles.  Rutherford described this as if “you fired a 15 inch shell at at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you” such huge deflections could mean only one thing, some of the alpha particles had run into massive concentrations of positive charge and since like charges repel, had been hurdled straight back at them. This lead to the downfall of the current bun theory which currently existed.

Not actual current bun used.

According to this popular theory, championed by J.J Thomson, atoms were built along the lines of currant buns. We just thought they were a tasty snack, evidently not. Recipes can be found online and we would recommend Delia smiths. Atoms were thought to be able to whizz straight though the thin foil. The theory was that the electrons for currants and a smeared out positive charge for the rest of the bun to keep the whole thing electrically neutral.

On a cold winter’s day in 1911, Rutherford was ironically eating current buns, subconsciously mocking his fellow scientist. He released yet another shock wave; however a more elongated noise, BOOOM!! Of course, for longer lasting effect, this came in the form of the new Rutherford Model which we still use today.  It is said to be, from a fellow critic, like an orange skittle sweet in Westminster abbey, a popular size comparison. This model focuses on a small massive nucleus in the centre of a spacious atom where the much lighter electrons are way outside the nucleus peering through the stained glass windows of scientific breakthrough.

Overall Rutherford was majorly influential towards science as a whole and especially in the field of nuclear physics. He created a new understanding and opened doors for a new era of science, before this, their vision was obscured by current buns. He cleared the way for modern day science and was widely appreciated as a Nobel winner in the area of chemistry.