ERNEST RUTHERFORD

Writes VI Grigoriev: "Proceedings of Ernest Rutherford, who is often rightly called one of the giants of physics of our century, the work of several generations of his students have had a tremendous impact not only on science and technology of our age, but also the lives of millions of people. He was an optimist, he believed in people and in science, which has devoted all his life. "

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 near the town of Nelson (New Zealand), the son of a migrant from Scotland, wheelwright, James Rutherford. Ernest was the fourth child in the family, but he had another 6 sons and 5 daughters. His mother, Martha Thompson, worked as a rural schoolteacher. When his father organized the woodworking enterprise, the boy often worked under his leadership. These skills helped Ernest later in the design and construction of scientific equipment.

After graduating from high school in Havelock, where at that time lived a family, he received a scholarship to continue his education in the province of Nelson College, which he entered in 1887. Two years later, Ernest exam at Canterbury College - a branch of the New Zealand University in Christchurch. In college at the Rutherford had a great influence of his teacher: taught physics and chemistry E. U. Bikerton and mathematician Dzh. H. H. Cook.

Ernest found brilliance. After the fourth year he won the award for best work in mathematics and won first place at the Master′s examinations, not only in mathematics but also in physics. Becoming a Master of Arts in 1892, he left college. Rutherford was plunged into its first independent scientific work. It had the name "magnetisation of iron with high-frequency discharges and for detection of high-frequency radio waves. In order to study this phenomenon, he constructed a radio (for a few years before, as did Marconi) 1 and with it receive signals transmitted by colleagues from a distance of half a mile. The work of the young scientist was published in 1894 in Izvestia Philosophical Institute of New Zealand.

The most gifted young overseas nationals of the British crown every two years provided a special grant, provided the opportunity to go for improvement in science in England. In 1895 becomes vacant scholarships for science education. The first candidate for the scholarship chemist Maclaurin declined for family reasons, the second candidate was Rutherford. Arriving in England, Rutherford was invited JJ Thomson′s work in Cambridge at the Cavendish Laboratory. Thus began a scientific way of Rutherford.

At Thomson, he was impressed by Rutherford conducted a study of radio waves, and he in 1896 proposed to jointly study the impact of X-rays on the electrical discharges in gases. In the same year appears the joint work of Thomson and Rutherford′s "On the passage of electricity through gases exposed to X rays. The following year saw the publication of the final paper of Rutherford on the subject "The magnetic detector of electrical waves and some of its applications.

Photo — «Ernest Rutherford»

After that, he fully concentrate their efforts on the study of gas discharge. In 1897 he appeared and his new work "On the electrification of gases exposed to the action of X-rays, and the absorption of X-ray emission of gases and vapors. "

Cooperation with Thomson crowned significant results, including the recent discovery of the electron - a particle that carries a negative electrical charge. Based on its study, Thomson and Rutherford have suggested that, when X-rays pass through the gas, they destroy the atoms of the gas, freeing up an equal number of positively and negatively charged particles. These particles are called ions. After this work, Rutherford began to study the atomic structure of matter.

In autumn 1898 Rutherford took the place of Professor Makgillskogo University in Montreal. Teaching Rutherford at first did not go too well: the students did not like the lectures, which are young and not yet fully learn to feel the audience professor glut details. Some difficulties arose at the beginning and in scientific work because of the fact that the delayed arrival of the ordered radioactive drugs. After all, when all efforts he did not receive sufficient funds to construct the necessary equipment. A lot of the necessary equipment for experiments, Rutherford has built his own hands.

Nevertheless, he worked in Montreal for a long time - seven years. The exception was 1900 when, during a brief stay in New Zealand, Rutherford married. His chosen ones were Mary Georgina Newton, the daughter of the landlady of the boarding house in Christchurch, where he once lived. March 30, 1901 was born the only daughter of couple Rutherford. By the time it almost coincided with the birth of a new chapter in the physical sciences - physics of the nucleus.

"In 1899, Rutherford offers an emanation of thorium, but in the years 1902-03 he, together with F. Soddy already comes to the general law of radioactive transformations, - wrote VI Grigoriev. - About this scientific event, we must say more. All the chemists of the world is firmly understood that the transformation of chemical elements in the other it is impossible that the dream of alchemists to make gold from lead should be buried forever. And here there is work, whose authors claim that the transmutation of elements in the radioactive decay is not only occurring, but that not even stop or slow them impossible. Moreover, formulated the laws of such transformations. We now understand that the position of an element in Mendeleyev′s periodic system, and hence its chemical properties are determined by the nuclear charge. In alpha decay, where the nuclear charge is reduced by two units (a unit adopted "elementary" charge - a module of the electron charge), the element of "moves" on two squares up in the periodic table, with the electronic beta decay - one cell down , in positron - on cell up.

Photo — «Ernest Rutherford»

Despite its apparent simplicity and even the evidence of this law, its discovery was one of the most important scientific events of the beginning of our century. "

In his classic work "Radioactivity" Rutherford and Soddy touched upon the fundamental question of the energy of radioactive transformations. By calculating the energy emitted by radium alpha particles, they come to the conclusion that "the energy of radioactive transformations, at least in the 20000 times, and maybe even a million times greater than the energy of any molecular transformation. Rutherford and Soddy concluded that "the energy latent in the atom, is many times more energy released in the normal chemical transformation. This enormous energy, in their opinion, should be taken into account "when explaining the phenomena of space physics. " In particular, the constancy of solar energy can be explained by the fact that "the sun goes subatomic processes of transformation. "

One can not but marvel at the foresight of authors who saw in 1903 the cosmic role of nuclear energy. This was a year of opening a new form of energy, which with certainty expressed Rutherford and Soddy, calling it an atomic energy.

Having obtained world fame scientist and member of the Royal Society of London (1903) receives an invitation to take a chair at Manchester. May 24, 1907 Rutherford returned to Europe. Here Rutherford threw himself into vigorous activity, attracting young scientists from around the world. One of its active employees was the German physicist Hans Geiger, the creator of the first counter of elementary particles. In Manchester with Rutherford worked E. Marsden, K. Fajans, H. Moseley, G. Hevesi and other physicists and chemists.

In 1908 Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "as for its research in the collapse of elements in the chemistry of radioactive substances". In his opening speech on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences KB Hasselberg noted the link between the work carried out by Rutherford, and Thomson′s work, Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie. "The discoveries have led to a tremendous conclusion: the chemical element . . . able to transform into other elements, "- said Hasselberg. In his Nobel lecture Rutherford said: "There is every reason to believe that alpha particles, which are so easily thrown out of most radioactive substances are identical in mass and composition and should consist of the nuclei of helium atoms. We, therefore, can not come to the conclusion that the atoms of the major radioactive elements like uranium and thorium should be based, at least in part, from helium atoms.

After receiving the Nobel Prize Rutherford conducted experiments on the bombardment of a thin plate of gold foil with alpha particles. These data led him in 1911 to a new model of the atom. According to his theory, which has become common, positively charged particles are concentrated in the center of a heavy atom and the negatively charged (electrons) are orbiting the nucleus at some distance from him.

Photo — «Ernest Rutherford»

This model is like a tiny model of the solar system. It implies that atoms consist mostly of empty space.

Widespread recognition of the theory of Rutherford began when a scientist to work at Manchester University, joined the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Bohr showed that in terms proposed by Rutherford, the structure can be explained by well-known physical properties of the hydrogen atom, as well as a few atoms of heavier elements.

The fruitful work of Rutherford in Manchester, was interrupted by the First World War. The British government appointed a member of Rutherford′s "Admiral′s headquarters inventions and research" - an organization established to find a means of combating enemy submarines. In Rutherford′s laboratory in connection with this research began to sound propagation under water. Only after the war the scientist was able to recover their study of the atom.

After the war he returned to the Manchester laboratory and in 1919 made another fundamental discovery. Rutherford was able to artificially making the first reaction of the atoms. By bombarding nitrogen atoms with alpha particles, Rutherford received oxygen atoms. As a result of Rutherford′s research dramatically increased the interest of specialists in atomic physics to the nature of the atomic nucleus.

In the same 1919 Rutherford went to Cambridge University, becoming the successor to Thompson as a professor of experimental physics and director of the Cavendish Laboratory, and in 1921 he was appointed professor of natural sciences at the Royal Institution in London. In 1925, British scientist was awarded the Order of Merit. In 1930 Rutherford was appointed chairman of a government advisory council management of scientific and industrial research. In 1931 he received the title of Lord and became a member of the House of Lords of Parliament.

Students and colleagues remembered the scientist as a dear, good man. They admired his extraordinary creative way of thinking, remembering, as he happily talked before each new study: "I hope that this important topic, because there are so many things that we do not know. "

Worried about the policy pursued by the Nazi government of Adolf Hitler, Rutherford in 1933, became president of the Academic Assistance Council, which was created to assist those who fled from Germany.

Almost until the end of his life he was distinguished by poor health and died in Cambridge on Oct. 20, 1937 after a short illness. In recognition of outstanding achievement in the development of science scientist was buried in Westminster Abbey.