Download Ernest Rutherford

By Adam Birsic and Jared Bobeck
Background
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Born August 30, 1871
Died October 19, 1937
He was a New Zealand-born British
physicist who became known as the father
of nuclear physics.
Became director of the Cavendish
Laboratory at Cambridge University in
1919.
Ashes were buried in Westminster Abbey,
London.
Rutherford/Planetary Model
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGqh6x3
OnNU
 This is the model of the atom created by
Rutherford.
 In 1909, Rutherford directed the GeigerMarsden Experiment (Gold Foil) which
suggested that J.J. Thomson’s “plum
pudding model” was incorrect.
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Rutherford/Planetary Model
The Atomic Theory
His theory described the atom as having
a central positive nucleus surrounded by
negative orbiting electrons.
 It also suggested that most of the mass
of the atom was contained in the small
nucleus, and the rest of the atom was
empty space.
 These findings were a result of the Gold
Foil experiment.
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The Gold Foil Experiment
Involved the firing of radioactive
particles through minutely thin metal
foils.
 They were then detected by using
screens coated with zinc sulfide (a
scintillator).
 Although most particles passed straight
through the foil approximately 1 in 8000
were deflected.
 This led to his Atomic Theory.
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Gold Foil Experiment
The Proton
In 1917, he was widely credited with first
“splitting the atom” in nuclear reaction
between nitrogen and alpha particles.
 Through this experiment, he discovered
positively charged particles in the
nucleus of the atom and named them
“protons”.
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Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Ruth
erford
 http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/timeline/pag
es/1911.html
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