Ernest Rutherford — “Father” of Nuclear Physics
Ernest Rutherford is a physicist active in the fields of radioactivity and atomic construction. He is considered the “father” of nuclear physics after giving the “Atomic Planets” model to explain “experiments on gold foil”. For his discovery he was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, in the city of Nelson, New Zealand, to a well-off family. His father was originally a car builder and his mother was an English teacher.
When he was 16 years old, Rutherford attended Nelson High School, one of the famous New Zealand schools at that time. Due to his academic excellence, upon graduation in 1889, Rutherford was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Wellington. In 1893, he graduated with excellence in mathematics and scientific physics.
After a year studying at the University of Wellington, Rutherford was sent to work as a PhD student at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, England. Under the direction of scientist Thomson, after only a short time, Rutherford made great strides. Besides focusing his studies on the atomic nucleus, that is, the…
