Ernest Rutherford - biography, information, personal life. Photo selection: "Father" of nuclear physics, Sir Ernest Rutherford

English physicist, the first to carry out the artificial transformation of elements. His statement in 1933 is characteristic: "Everyone who hopes that the transformations of atomic nuclei will become a source of energy is professing nonsense." Historians of science believe that this is the only major mistake of a scientist ...

Ernst Rutherford- Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1908 "for his research in the field of decay of elements in the chemistry of radioactive substances." He was a member of all the Academies of Sciences in the world.

Ernest Rutherford was born in New Zealand, but as a scientist took place in the UK.

“Among the favorite sayings of Ernst Rutherford was this: “Good is the experimenter whose results infuriate theorists!” Rutherford himself was very good in this sense. First he managed to turn one atom into another. Then he discovered atoms with different masses, but the same chemical properties - Isotopes. Finally, Rutherford discovered that most of the volume of an atom is empty; only in the center is there a charged nucleus of enormous density.”

Smirnov S.G., Lectures on the history of science, M., MCNMO Publishing House, 2012, p.118.

"One of the first discoveries Rutherford was that the radioactive radiation of uranium consists of two different components, which the scientist called alpha and beta rays. Later, he demonstrated the nature of each component (they are composed of fast moving particles) and showed that there is also a third component, which he called gamma rays. An important feature of radioactivity is the energy associated with it. Becquerel, the Curies and many other scientists considered energy to be an external source. But Rutherford proved that this energy - which is much more powerful than that released during chemical reactions, - comes from inside individual uranium atoms! With this he laid the foundation for an important concept atomic energy. Scientists have always assumed that individual atoms are indivisible and immutable. But Rutherford (with the help of a very talented young assistant Frederica Soddy) was able to show that when an atom emits alpha or beta rays, it transforms into a different kind of atom. At first, chemists could not believe it. However, Rutherford and Soddy conducted a whole series of experiments with radioactive decay and transformed uranium into lead.

Rutherford also measured the rate of decay and formulated the important concept of "half-life". This soon led to the technique of radioactive calculus, which became one of the most important scientific tools and found wide application in geology, archeology, astronomy and many other fields. This stunning series of discoveries brought Rutherford in 1908 Nobel Prize(later received the Nobel Prize and Soddy), but his greatest achievement was yet to come. He noticed that fast-moving alpha particles were able to pass through thin gold foil (leaving no visible traces!), but were slightly deflected. There was an assumption that gold atoms, hard, impenetrable, like "tiny billiard balls" - as scientists previously believed - were soft inside! It looked as if smaller, harder alpha particles could pass through gold atoms like a high-velocity bullet through jelly.

But Rutherford (working with Geiger and Marsden, with his two young assistants) discovered that some alpha particles passing through gold foil were deflected very strongly. In fact, some even fly back! Feeling that there was something important behind this, the scientist carefully counted the number of particles that flew in each direction. Then, through a complex but quite convincing mathematical analysis he showed the only way in which the results of the experiments could be explained: the gold atom consisted almost entirely of empty space, and almost all atomic mass was concentrated in the center, in the small "nucleus" of the atom!

With one blow, Rutherford's work forever shook our usual vision of the world. If even a piece of metal - seemingly the hardest of all objects - was mostly empty space, then everything that we considered material, suddenly fell apart into tiny grains of sand, running around in the vast void! The discovery of atomic nuclei by Rutherford is the basis of all modern theories of the structure of the atom. When Niels Bohr two years later he published a famous work describing the atom as a miniature solar system controlled by quantum mechanics, he used Rutherford's nuclear theory as a starting point for his model. So did Heisenberg and Schrödinger when they constructed more complex atomic models using classical and wave mechanics.

Rutherford's discovery also led to a new branch of science: the study of the atomic nucleus. In this area, too, Rutherford was destined to become a pioneer. In 1919, he succeeded in transforming nitrogen nuclei into oxygen nuclei by firing the first fast-moving alpha particles. It was an achievement dreamed of by the ancient alchemists. It soon became clear that nuclear transformations could be the source of the Sun's energy. Moreover, the transformation of atomic nuclei is a key process in atomic weapons and on nuclear power plants. Consequently, Rutherford's discovery is of much more interest than just academic.

Rutherford's personality constantly amazed everyone who met him. He was a big man with a loud voice, boundless energy, and a marked lack of modesty. When colleagues noted Rutherford's supernatural ability to always be “on the crest of a wave” of scientific research, he immediately answered: “Why not? It was I who caused the wave, wasn't it?" Few scientists would object to this assertion."

Michael Hart, 100 great people, M., Veche, 1998, p. 293-295.

“On September 11, 1933, at the congress of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (an analogue of our society “Knowledge”), Rutherford, known to have discovered atomic nuclei and their fission. Rutherford stated in his speech, however (it was widely reported in the newspapers), that "anyone who expects energy to be obtained from the transformation of atoms is talking nonsense." In other words, Rutherford denied the reality of the use of atomic (nuclear) energy. In this he was not alone and quite right in the sense that in 1933 there really was no way to use nuclear energy. However, just five years later, the situation completely changed - uranium fission was discovered, and nine years later (in 1942) the first atomic boiler was launched.

English physicist, one of the creators of the theory of radioactivity and the structure of the atom, founder scientific school, in. h.-k. RAS (1922), honor. Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1925). Dir. Cavendish Laboratory (since 1919). Opened (1899) alpha and beta rays and established their nature. Created (1903, jointly with F. Soddy) the theory of radioactivity. He proposed (1911) a planetary model of the atom. Carried out (1919) the first art. nuclear reaction. Predicted (1921) the existence of the neutron. Nob. etc. in chemistry (1908).

Ernest Rutherford is considered the greatest experimental physicist of the twentieth century. He is central figure in our knowledge of radioactivity, as well as the man who laid the foundation for nuclear physics. In addition to their great theoretical significance, his discoveries have received a wide range of applications, including: nuclear weapon, nuclear power plants, radioactive calculations and radiation research. The impact of Rutherford's work on the world is enormous. It continues to grow and is likely to increase further in the future.

Rutherford was born and raised in New Zealand. There he entered Canterbury College and by the age of twenty-three received three degrees (bachelor humanities, bachelor natural sciences, Master of Arts). The following year he was awarded the right to study at the University of Cambridge in England, where he spent three years as a research student under J. J. Thomson, one of the leading scientists of the day. At twenty-seven, Rutherford became a professor of physics at McGill University in Canada. He worked there for nine years and returned to England in 1907 to head the physics department at the University of Manchester. In 1919, Rutherford returned to Cambridge, this time as director of the Cavendish Laboratory, and remained in this post for the rest of his life.

Radioactivity was discovered in 1896 by the French scientist Antoine Henri Becquerel when he was experimenting with uranium compounds. But Becquerel soon lost interest in the subject, and most of our basic knowledge of radioactivity comes from Rutherford's extensive research. (Marie and Pierre Curie discovered two more radioactive elements - polonium and radium, but did not make discoveries of fundamental importance.)

One of Rutherford's first discoveries was that the radioactive radiation from uranium consists of two different components, which the scientist called alpha and beta rays. Later, he demonstrated the nature of each component (they are composed of fast moving particles) and showed that there is also a third component, which he called gamma rays.

An important feature of radioactivity is the energy associated with it. Becquerel, the Curies and many other scientists considered energy to be an external source. But Rutherford proved that this energy - which is much more powerful than that released by chemical reactions - comes from within the individual atoms of uranium! With this he laid the foundation for the important concept of atomic energy.

Scientists have always assumed that individual atoms are indivisible and immutable. But Rutherford (with the help of a very talented young assistant, Frederick Soddy) was able to show that when an atom emits alpha or beta rays, it transforms into a different kind of atom. At first, chemists could not believe it. However, Rutherford and Soddy conducted a whole series of experiments with radioactive decay and transformed uranium into lead. Rutherford also measured the rate of decay and formulated the important concept of "half-life". This soon led to the technique of radioactive calculus, which became one of the most important scientific tools and was widely used in geology, archeology, astronomy and many other fields.

This stunning series of discoveries earned Rutherford the Nobel Prize in 1908 (Soddy later won the Nobel Prize), but his greatest achievement was yet to come. He noticed that fast-moving alpha particles were able to pass through thin gold foil (leaving no visible traces!), but were slightly deflected. It was suggested that gold atoms, hard, impenetrable, like "tiny billiard balls" - as scientists previously believed - were soft inside! It looked as if smaller, harder alpha particles could pass through gold atoms like a high-velocity bullet through jelly.

But Rutherford (working with Geiger and Marsden, his two young assistants) found that some alpha particles passing through gold foil were deflected very strongly. In fact, some even fly back! Feeling that there was something important behind this, the scientist carefully counted the number of particles that flew in each direction. Then, through complex but quite convincing mathematical analysis, he showed the only way in which the results of the experiments could be explained: the gold atom consisted almost entirely of empty space, and almost all of the atomic mass was concentrated in the center, in the small "nucleus" of the atom!

With one blow, Rutherford's work forever shook our usual vision of the world. If even a piece of metal - seemingly the hardest of all objects - was basically empty space, then everything that we considered material, suddenly fell apart into tiny grains of sand, running around in the vast void!

The discovery of atomic nuclei by Rutherford is the basis of all modern theories of the structure of the atom. When Niels Bohr published his famous work two years later describing the atom as a miniature solar system governed by quantum mechanics, he used Rutherford's nuclear theory as a starting point for his model. So did Heisenberg and Schrödinger when they constructed more complex atomic models using classical and wave mechanics.

Rutherford's discovery also led to a new branch of science: the study of the atomic nucleus. In this area, too, Rutherford was destined to become a pioneer. In 1919, he succeeded in transforming nitrogen nuclei into oxygen nuclei by firing the first fast-moving alpha particles. It was an achievement dreamed of by the ancient alchemists.

It soon became clear that nuclear transformations could be the source of the Sun's energy. Moreover, the transformation of atomic nuclei is a key process in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants. Consequently, Rutherford's discovery is of much more interest than just academic.

Rutherford's personality constantly amazed everyone who met him. He was a big man with a loud voice, boundless energy, and a marked lack of modesty. When colleagues noted Rutherford's supernatural ability to always be "on the crest of a wave" of scientific research, he immediately replied: "Why not? After all, I caused the wave, didn't I?" Few scientists would object to this assertion.

As V.I. Grigoriev: “The works of Ernest Rutherford, who is often rightly called one of the titans of physics of our century, the work of several generations of his students, had a huge impact not only on the science and technology of our century, but also on the lives of millions of people. He was an optimist, he believed in people and in science, to which he devoted his whole life.”

Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, near the city of Nelson (New Zealand), in the family of James Rutherford, a migrant from Scotland.

Ernest was the fourth child in the family, besides him there were also 6 sons and 5 daughters. His mother. Martha Thompson, worked as a country teacher. When his father organized a woodworking enterprise, the boy often worked under his leadership. The acquired skills subsequently helped Ernest in the design and construction of scientific equipment.

After graduating from school in Havelock, where the family lived at that time, he received a scholarship to continue his education at Nelson Provincial College, where he entered in 1887. Two years later, Ernest passed the exam at Canterbury College, a branch of the University of New Zealand in Christchurch. In college, Rutherford was greatly influenced by his teachers: who taught physics and chemistry, E.W. Bickerton and mathematician J.H.H. Cook.

Ernest discovered brilliant abilities. After completing his fourth year, he received an award for best work in mathematics and took first place in the master's examinations, not only in mathematics, but also in physics. After becoming a master of arts in 1892, he did not leave the college. Rutherford plunged into his first independent scientific work. It was called "Magnetization of iron during high-frequency discharges" and dealt with the detection of high-frequency radio waves. In order to study this phenomenon, he built a radio receiver (a few years before Marconi did) and with it received signals transmitted by colleagues from a distance of half a mile. The work of the young scientist was published in 1894 in the Proceedings of the Philosophical Institute of New Zealand.

The most gifted young overseas subjects of the British crown were given a special scholarship once every two years, which made it possible to go to England for improvement in science. In 1895, a scholarship to receive science education. The first candidate for this scholarship, the chemist Maclaurin, declined for family reasons, the second candidate was Rutherford. Arriving in England, Rutherford received an invitation from J.J. Thomson to work in Cambridge in the Cavendish laboratory. Thus began the scientific path of Rutherford.

Thomson was deeply impressed by Rutherford's research into radio waves, and in 1896 he proposed to jointly study the effect of X-rays on electrical discharges in gases. Appears in the same year teamwork Thomson and Rutherford "On the passage of electricity through gases subjected to the action of X-rays". The following year saw the publication of Rutherford's final paper on the subject, "The Magnetic Detector of Electric Waves and Some of Its Applications." After that, he completely concentrates his efforts on the study of a gas discharge. In 1897, his new job"On the electrification of gases exposed to X-rays, and on the absorption of X-rays by gases and vapours".

Collaboration with Thomson was crowned with significant results, including the discovery by the latter of the electron - a particle that carries a negative electric charge. Based on their research, Thomson and Rutherford hypothesized that when X-rays pass through a gas, they destroy the atoms of that gas, releasing the same number positively and negatively charged particles. They called these particles ions. After this work, Rutherford began to study the atomic structure of matter.

In the autumn of 1898, Rutherford took over as professor at McGill University in Montreal. Rutherford's teaching at first was not very successful: the students did not like the lectures, which the young and not yet fully learned to feel the audience professor oversaturated with details. Some difficulties arose at the beginning and in scientific work due to the fact that the arrival of the ordered radioactive preparations was delayed. After all, with all his efforts, he did not receive sufficient funds to build the necessary instruments. Rutherford built much of the equipment necessary for the experiments with his own hands.

Nevertheless, he worked in Montreal for quite a long time - seven years. The exception was 1900, when Rutherford married during a brief stay in New Zealand. His chosen one was Mary Georgia Newton, the daughter of the hostess of the boarding house in Christchurch in which he once lived. On March 30, 1901, the only daughter of the Rutherford couple was born. In time, this almost coincided with the birth of a new chapter in physical science - nuclear physics.

“In 1899, Rutherford discovered the emanation of thorium, and in 1902-03, together with F. Soddy, he already came to the general law of radioactive transformations,” writes V.I. Grigoriev. - It is necessary to say more about this scientific event. All chemists of the world have firmly grasped that the transformation of some chemical elements into others is impossible, that the dreams of alchemists to make gold from lead should be buried forever. And now a work appears, the authors of which argue that the transformations of elements during radioactive decays not only occur, but that it is even impossible to stop or slow them down. Moreover, the laws of such transformations are formulated. We now understand that the position of an element in periodic system Mendeleev, and hence his Chemical properties, are determined by the nuclear charge. During alpha decay, when the charge of the nucleus decreases by two units (the "elementary" charge - the module of the electron charge is taken as a unit), the element "moves" two cells up in the periodic table, with electronic beta decay - one cell down, with positron - per cell up. Despite the apparent simplicity and even obviousness of this law, its discovery has become one of the most important scientific events of the beginning of our century.”

In his classical work"Radioactivity" Rutherford and Soddy touched on the fundamental question of the energy of radioactive transformations. Calculating the energy of alpha particles emitted by radium, they conclude that "the energy of radioactive transformations is at least 20,000 times, and maybe even a million times greater than the energy of any molecular transformation." Rutherford and Soddy concluded that "the energy hidden in the atom is many times greater than the energy released in ordinary chemical transformation." This huge energy, in their opinion, should be taken into account "when explaining the phenomena of space physics." In particular, persistence solar energy can be explained by the fact that the processes of subatomic transformation are taking place on the Sun.

It is impossible not to be astonished at the foresight of the authors, who as early as 1903 saw the cosmic role of nuclear energy. This year was the opening year new form energy, about which Rutherford and Soddy spoke with certainty, calling it intra-atomic energy.

A world-famous scientist, a member of the Royal Society of London (1903) receives an invitation to take a chair in Manchester. On May 24, 1907, Rutherford returned to Europe. Here Rutherford launched a vigorous activity, attracting young scientists from different countries peace. One of his active collaborators was the German physicist Hans Geiger, the creator of the first counter. elementary particles. E. Marsden, K. Fajans, G. Moseley, G. Hevesy and other physicists and chemists worked with Rutherford in Manchester.

In 1908, Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his research on the decay of elements in the chemistry of radioactive substances." In his opening speech on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, K.B. Hasselberg pointed to the connection between the work carried out by Rutherford and the work of Thomson, Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie. “The discoveries led to a startling conclusion: chemical element... capable of transforming into other elements,” Hasselberg said. Rutherford noted in his Nobel lecture: “There is every reason to believe that alpha particles, which are so freely ejected from most
radioactive substances are identical in mass and composition and must consist of nuclei of helium atoms. We therefore cannot help but conclude that the atoms of the basic radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium, must be built at least in part from helium atoms.

After receiving the Nobel Prize, Rutherford conducted experiments on bombarding a plate of thin gold foil with alpha particles. The data obtained led him in 1911 to a new model of the atom. According to his theory, which has become generally accepted, positively charged particles are concentrated in the heavy center of the atom, and negatively charged particles (electrons) are in the orbit of the nucleus, for quite a long distance From him. This model is like a tiny model of the solar system. It implies that atoms are composed primarily of empty space.

The widespread recognition of Rutherford's theory began when the Danish physicist Niels Bohr joined the scientist's work at the University of Manchester. Bohr showed that, in Rutherford's terms, structures can be explained by well-known physical properties a hydrogen atom, as well as atoms of several heavier elements.

The fruitful work of the Rutherford group in Manchester was interrupted by the First World War. The British government appointed Rutherford a member of the "Admiral's Staff of Inventions and Research" - an organization created to find means of combating enemy submarines. In connection with this, Rutherford's laboratory began research on the propagation of sound under water. Only at the end of the war was the scientist able to restore his research on the atom.

After the war, he returned to the Manchester laboratory and in 1919 made another fundamental discovery. Rutherford managed to artificially carry out the first reaction of the transformation of atoms. By bombarding nitrogen atoms with alpha particles, Rutherford obtained oxygen atoms. As a result of research carried out by Rutherford, the interest of specialists in atomic physics in the nature of the atomic nucleus has sharply increased.

Also in 1919, Rutherford moved to the University of Cambridge, succeeding Thomson as professor of experimental physics and director of the Cavendish Laboratory, and in 1921 took up the position of professor of natural sciences at Royal Institute in London. In 1925, the scientist was awarded the British Order of Merit. In 1930, Rutherford was appointed chairman of the government's advisory board for the Office of Scientific and Industrial Research. In 1931, he received the title of Lord and became a member of the House of Lords of the English Parliament.

Students and colleagues remembered the scientist as a nice, kind person. They admired his extraordinary creative way of thinking, recalling how he happily said before the start of each new study: “I hope this is an important topic, because there are still so many things that we don’t know.”

Concerned about the policies pursued by the Nazi government of Adolf Hitler, Rutherford in 1933 became president of the Academic Relief Council, which was set up to assist those who fled Germany.

Almost to the end of his life he was distinguished good health and died at Cambridge on 20 October 1937 after a short illness. In recognition of outstanding achievements in the development of science, the scientist was buried in Westminster Abbey.

(1871-1937) English physicist, founder nuclear physics

Ernest Rutherford was born in Spring Grove (now Brightwater) in New Zealand, in a simple Scottish family. His father, James Rutherford, was a wheelwright and his mother, Martha Thomson, was a teacher. Ernest was the fourth of twelve children. Since childhood, he was a very observant and hardworking boy. After graduating primary school as the best student, Ernest received a scholarship to continue his education at Nelson Provincial College, where he entered in 1887 in the fifth grade. Already here his exceptional abilities for mathematics were manifested; he was also good at physics, chemistry, literature, Latin and French. Ernest was fond of designing as a child various mechanisms: built models of watermills, cars, even made a camera.

After graduating from college, he entered Canterbury College at the University of New Zealand in Christchurch. Here Rutherford began to study physics and chemistry more seriously, worked in student circles, and was even one of the initiators of the creation of a scientific student society at the university.

After reading an article by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz about the discovery electromagnetic waves, Rutherford decided to investigate their properties. But there was a problem of detecting incoming electromagnetic waves. He managed to establish that their presence can be judged by the demagnetization of iron. It was the first real discovery of the twenty-three-year-old Rutherford.

In 1894, Ernest graduated from college with honors and received a master's degree in physics and mathematics. He became a high school physics teacher, but did not excel in this field. In 1895, he was awarded the largest scholarship - the "1851 scholarship", which made it possible to study in the best laboratories in the country. In the autumn of 1895 Rutherford came to Cambridge - science Center England - and began working at the Cavendish Laboratory under the guidance of the outstanding English physicist Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940).

Ernest continues his research in the field of electromagnetic waves, and in 1896 he manages to establish radio communication at a distance of about 3 kilometers. Practical side he was of little interest to radio communications, and therefore he stopped his work in this area, and gave the transmitter to the Italian engineer G. Marconi, who used it in his research. At this time, Rutherford, together with J. J. Thomson, began work on the study of the ionization of gases and air. different methods including X-rays. But after the discovery of radioactivity by Becquerel in 1896, Rutherford began to compare the rays of Roentgen and Becquerel.

In 1898 he was appointed professor of physics at McGill University in Montreal and arrived in Canada in September of that year. He worked at McGill University for 9 years - until 1907 - and did a lot important discoveries. In 1898, Rutherford began to study uranium radiation, the results of which were published in 1899 in the article "The radiation of uranium and the electrical conductivity created by it." Investigating uranium radiation in a magnetic field, Rutherford found that it consists of two components. The first component, which deviates in one direction and is easily absorbed by a sheet of paper, he called alpha rays, and the second, which deviates in the opposite direction and has a greater penetrating power, beta rays.

In 1900, Villars discovered another component in the radiation of uranium, which did not deviate in a magnetic field and had the greatest penetrating power, it was called gamma rays. In 1900, while studying the radioactivity of thorium, Rutherford discovered new gas later named radon. Together with the English physicist and chemist Frederick Soddy, in 1902-1903 he developed the theory radioactive decay and established the law of radioactive transformations. Rutherford predicted the existence of transuranic elements. The result of the nine-year work of the scientist in Montreal are more than 50 published scientific articles and the book "Radioactivity", which summed up all the knowledge known to science about this phenomenon.

Rutherford's name becomes known, and he receives an invitation to take the position of professor of physics at the University of Manchester and director of the physical laboratory. On May 24, 1907, Ernest Rutherford returned to Europe and began to work on unraveling the nature of alpha particles and their passage through matter, the study of which he began back in Canada. For research on the transformation of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908.

In Manchester, Rutherford creates a team of outstanding researchers from around the world, among whom were the German physicist Hans Geiger (1882-1945), the English physicist Henry Moseley (1887-1915), the New Zealand physicist, at that time a final year student, Ernest Marsden (1889- 1970) and other scientists. In an atmosphere of collective scientific creativity, the largest scientific discoveries Rutherford. In 1908, together with Geiger, he designed a device for registering individual charged particles, called the Geiger counter. In 1909 he found out the nature of alpha particles: they are doubly ionized helium atoms. In 1911, based on the results of experiments conducted by his students Marsden and Geiger, he established the law of scattering of alpha particles by atoms of various elements, which led him in May 1911 to create a new model of the atom - planetary. According to this model, an atom is like solar system: in the center there is a massive positive nucleus with a diameter of about 10 12 cm, around which negative electrons rotate in circular orbits. The number of elementary positive charges contained in the atomic nucleus coincides with the serial number of the element in the table of D. I. Mendeleev, its shell contains the same number of electrons, since the atom as a whole is electrically neutral.

Before Rutherford could exclaim, “Now I know what an atom looks like!”, Marsden and Geiger had to record and count over 2 million barely visible scintillations (flashes) of alpha particles.

In 1912, the outstanding Danish physicist Niels Bohr came to Manchester. He succeeded in eliminating the contradictions planetary model atom proposed by Rutherford. As a result of his work, the Rutherford-Bohr model of the atom appeared, which marked the beginning of quantum and nuclear physics.

In 1914, Rutherford put forward the idea of ​​artificial transformation of atomic nuclei. But the beginning of the first World War interrupted research and scattered the friendly team to different countries at war with each other. Rutherford himself was involved in military research and was developing acoustic methods fight against German submarines. At the front in 1915, at the age of 28, Henry Moseley was killed - one of his best students, who glorified his name with a major discovery in X-ray spectroscopy. James Chadwick was in German captivity, Marsden fought in France, and Niels Bohr returned to Copenhagen. Only after the war Rutherford was able to resume his research.

In 1919, he moved to Cambridge, where he held the post of professor at the University of Cambridge and succeeded his teacher J. J. Thomson, becoming director of the Cavendish Laboratory. The scientist held this post until the end of his life. Ongoing research brings brilliant results: an artificial nuclear reaction was carried out converting nitrogen into oxygen, which laid the foundations modern physics kernels. In 1920, Rutherford predicted the existence of the neutron, a neutral particle equal in mass to a hydrogen nucleus. Such a particle was discovered in 1932 by his student and collaborator Chadwick, who, in connection with this, became Nobel Laureate. The Cavendish Laboratory, led by Rutherford, became a scientific Mecca for physicists of all countries.

He treated his students with exceptional care, affectionately calling them "boys", did not allow them to work in the laboratory for more than six in the evening, and on weekends did not allow them to work at all. He guided his students like a "good-natured father of the family," and they affectionately called their teacher "daddy." Every day, Rutherford gathered employees over a cup of tea to discuss not only scientific problems and the results of experiments, but also issues of politics, art and literature. The great scientist was completely devoid of any stiffness, snobbery and desire to create an atmosphere of admiration around him.

Soviet physicists Yu. B. Khariton, A. I. Leipunsky, K. D. Sinelnikov, L. D. Landau and others also studied under him. In 1921, a young Soviet physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa (1894-1984) came to Rutherford in Cambridge and worked there for 13 years. He became an active collaborator and friend of Rutherford, lived up to the expectations of his teacher, achieving outstanding scientific results. In 1971, on the initiative of P. L. Kapitsa, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of a scientist in our country, anniversary medal Rutherford and published a collection of his works.

He was a member of all the academies of sciences in the world, since 1925 - a foreign member of the Academy of Sciences Soviet Union; from 1903 a member of the Royal Society of London, and from 1925 to 1930 - its president. In 1931 he was made a baron and became Lord Nelson. The great experimenter was awarded all the awards of the scientific world for his scientific merits.

Ernest Rutherford died on October 19, 1937 at the age of 66. His death was a huge loss for science, numerous students and all mankind. The great physicist is buried in Westminster Abbey - in St. Paul's Cathedral, next to the graves of I. Newton, M. Faraday, C. Darwin, V. Herschel, in one of the naves of the cathedral, called the "Science Corner".

Ernest Rutherford (photo posted later in the article), Baron Rutherford of Nelson and Cambridge (born 08/30/1871 in Spring Grove, New Zealand - died 10/19/1937 in Cambridge, England) is a British physicist originally from New Zealand, who is considered the greatest experimenter since the time of Michael Faraday (1791-1867). He was a central figure in the field of radioactivity, and his concept of the structure of the atom dominated nuclear physics. Became a Nobel laureate in 1908, was president Royal Society(1925-1930) and the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1923). In 1925 he was admitted to the Order of Merit and in 1931 was awarded a peerage, received the title of Lord Nelson.

Ernest Rutherford: a short biography in the early years of life

Ernest's father James moved from Scotland as a child in the middle of the 19th century to New Zealand, only recently settled by Europeans, where he worked agriculture. Rutherford's mother - Martha Thompson - came from England as a teenager and worked school teacher until she married and had ten children, of which Ernest was the fourth (and second son).

Ernest attended free public schools until 1886 when he won a scholarship to private high school Nelson. The gifted student excelled in almost every subject, but especially in mathematics. Another scholarship helped Rutherford to enroll in 1890 at Canterbury College, one of the four campuses of the University of New Zealand. It was small educational institution, which had only eight teachers on its staff, but had less than 300 students. To a young talent I was lucky to have excellent teachers who kindled in him an interest in scientific research backed up by solid evidence.

Upon completion of a three-year course of study, Ernest Rutherford became a bachelor and won a scholarship for a year of postgraduate study at Canterbury. Completing it at the end of 1893, he received the degree of Master of Arts - the first degree in physics, mathematics and mathematical physics. He was asked to stay for another year in Christchurch to conduct independent experiments. Rutherford's research into the ability of a high-frequency electrical discharge, such as that from a capacitor, to magnetize iron in late 1894 earned him a Bachelor of Science degree. During this period he fell in love with Mary Newton, the daughter of the woman in whose house he settled. They married in 1900. In 1895, Rutherford received a scholarship named after the World Exhibition of 1851 in London. He decided to continue his research at the Cavendish Laboratory, which J. J. Thomson, a leading European expert in the field electromagnetic radiation took over in 1884.

Cambridge

In recognition of the growing importance of science, the University of Cambridge has changed its rules to allow graduates from other universities to complete a degree after two years of study and the completion of acceptable research work. Rutherford was the first research student. Ernest, in addition to demonstrating magnetization by an oscillatory discharge of iron, found that the needle loses part of its magnetization in a magnetic field created by alternating current. This made it possible to create a detector of newly discovered electromagnetic waves. In 1864, the Scottish theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell predicted their existence, and in 1885-1889. German physicist Heinrich Hertz discovered them in his laboratory. Rutherford's device for detecting radio waves was simpler and had commercial potential. The next year, the young scientist spent at the Cavendish Laboratory, increasing the range and sensitivity of the instrument, which could receive signals at a distance of half a mile. However, Rutherford lacked the intercontinental vision and entrepreneurial skills of Italian Guglielmo Marconi, who invented the wireless telegraph in 1896.

Ionization research

Without abandoning his old passion for alpha particles, Rutherford studied their slight scattering after interaction with the foil. Geiger joined him and they got more meaningful data. In 1909, when undergraduate student Ernest Marsden was looking for a topic for his research project, Ernest suggested that he study large scattering angles. Marsden found that a small number of α-particles deviated more than 90° from their original direction, leading Rutherford to exclaim that this was almost as improbable as if a 15-inch projectile fired at a sheet of tissue paper bounced back and hit the shooter.

Atom Model

Reflecting on how such a heavy charged particle can be deflected by electrostatic attraction or repulsion through such a large angle, in 1944 Rutherford came to the conclusion that an atom cannot be homogeneous. solid. In his opinion, it consisted mainly of empty space and a tiny core in which all its mass is concentrated. Rutherford Ernest confirmed the model of the atom with numerous experimental evidence. It was his greatest scientific contribution, but little attention was paid to it outside of Manchester. In 1913, however, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr showed the importance of this discovery. A year earlier he had visited Rutherford's laboratory and returned as a faculty member in 1914-1916. Radioactivity, he explained, resides in the nucleus, while the chemical properties are determined by orbiting electrons. Bohr's model of the atom gave rise to a new concept of quanta (or discrete values ​​of energy) in the electrodynamics of orbits, and he explained spectral lines as the release or absorption of energy by electrons as they move from one orbit to another. Henry Moseley, another of Rutherford's many students, similarly explained the sequence of the X-ray spectrum of the elements by the nuclear charge. Thus a new coherent picture of the physics of the atom was developed.

Submarines and nuclear reaction

The First World War devastated the laboratory run by Ernest Rutherford. Interesting Facts from the life of a physicist during this period relate to his participation in the development of anti-submarine weapons, as well as membership in the Admiralty Council for Inventions and Scientific Research. When he took the time to return to his previous scientific work, then took up the study of the collision of alpha particles with gases. In the case of hydrogen, as expected, the detector recorded the formation of individual protons. But protons also appeared during the bombardment of nitrogen atoms. In 1919, Ernest Rutherford added another discovery to his discoveries: he managed to artificially provoke a nuclear reaction in a stable element.

Return to Cambridge

Nuclear reactions occupied the scientist throughout his career, which took place again in Cambridge, where in 1919 Rutherford became Thomson's successor as director of the University's Cavendish Laboratory. Ernest brought here his colleague at the University of Manchester, the physicist James Chadwick. Together they bombarded a number of light elements with alpha particles and caused nuclear transformations. But they were unable to penetrate the heavier nuclei, because the alpha particles were repelled by them due to the same charge, and scientists could not determine whether this happened separately or together with the target. In both cases, more advanced technology was required.

The higher energies in particle accelerators needed to solve the first problem became available in the late 1920s. In 1932, two students of Rutherford - the Englishman John Cockcroft and the Irishman Ernest Walton - became the first to actually cause a nuclear transformation. With the help of a high-voltage linear accelerator, they bombarded lithium with protons and split it into two α-particles. For this work they received the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics. The Scotsman Charles Wilson at Cavendish created a fog chamber that gave visual confirmation of the trajectory of charged particles, for which he was awarded the same prestigious international award in 1927. In 1924, the English physicist Patrick Blackett modified the cloud chamber to photograph about 400,000 alpha collisions and found that most of them were ordinary elastic ones, and 8 were accompanied by decay, in which the α-particle was absorbed by the target nucleus before it was split into two fragments. It has become important step in understanding nuclear reactions, for which Blackett was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Discovery of the neutron and thermonuclear fusion

Cavendish became the venue for other interesting works. The existence of the neutron was predicted by Rutherford in 1920. After a long search, in 1932 Chadwick discovered this neutral particle, proving that the nucleus consists of neutrons and protons, and his colleague, English physicist Norman Feder, soon showed that neutrons can cause nuclear reactions lighter than charged particles. Working with recently discovered heavy water in the USA, in 1934 Rutherford, Mark Oliphant from Australia and Paul Harteck from Austria bombarded deuterium with deuterons and carried out the first thermonuclear fusion.

Life outside of physics

The scientist had several non-science hobbies, including golf and motorsports. Ernest Rutherford was, in short, liberal, but was not politically active, although he served as chairman expert council government Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and was president for life (since 1933) of the Academic Assistance Council, an organization created to help scientists who fled from Nazi Germany. In 1931 he became a peer, but this event was overshadowed by the death of his daughter, who died eight days earlier. An outstanding scientist died in Cambridge after a short illness and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Ernest Rutherford: interesting facts

• He attended Canterbury College, University of New Zealand on a scholarship, earning a bachelor's and master's degree, and spent two years researching that led to the invention of a new kind of radio.
• Ernest Rutherford was the first non-Cambridge graduate who was allowed to conduct research work at the Cavendish Laboratory under Sir J. J. Thomson.
• During World War I he worked to solve the practical problems of detecting submarines.
• At McGill University in Canada, Ernest Rutherford, along with the chemist Frederick Soddy, created the theory of atomic decay.
• At the University of Victoria in Manchester, he and Thomas Royds proved that alpha radiation is composed of helium ions.
• Rutherford's research on the decay of elements and radioactive substances won him the Nobel Prize in 1908.
• His most famous Geiger-Marsden experiment, which demonstrated nuclear nature atom, the physicist spent after receiving the award of the Swedish Academy.
• The 104th chemical element, rutherfordium, was named in his honor, which was called kurchatovium in the USSR and the Russian Federation until 1997.