How Sir Ernest rutherford "split" the atom

10th May 2019

About Ernest Rutherford:

His mother, who believed ‘all knowledge is power’, made sure her children had a good education.

After gaining three degrees at Canterbury College, Rutherford won an Exhibition of 1851 scholarship and used it to study at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. Nicknamed ‘crocodile’ (because crocodiles always look forwards), he became known for his ability to make imaginative leaps and design experiments to test them.

In 1898 he accepted a professorship at McGill University in Montreal, returning to New Zealand briefly to marry Mary Newton, the daughter of his former landlady. It was at McGill University that Rutherford made the first of three major breakthroughs of his career: the discovery that atoms of heavy elements have a tendency to decay. This heralded the ‘carbon dating’ technique still important in science today.

More: 
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/ernest-rutherford

Questions:

What school did Ernest Rutherford go to? How far did he go in his education? Why?

Ernest received his early education in Government schools. At the age of 16 he showed great talent so entered Nelson Collegiate School. In 1889 he was awarded a University scholarship to the University of New Zealand, Wellington. 1894, he was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Science Scholarship, enabling him to go to Trinity College, Cambridge. It is believed that Ernest received more scholarships that any other chemist. 

Is it possible to split atoms?

Researchers have just shown how a single atom can be split into its two halves, pulled apart and put back together again. While the word "atom" literally means "indivisible," the laws of quantum mechanics allowdividing atoms -- similarly to light rays -- and reuniting them.

How sir ernest rutherford "split" the atom?

Ernest Rutherford was the first person to knowinglysplit the nucleus, in 1918 at pManchester University where he bombarded nitrogen with naturally occuring alpha particles from radioactive material and observed a proton emitted with energy higher than the alpha particlel.

What did Ernest Rutherford discover about the atom?

In 1911, he was the first to discover that atoms have a small charged nucleus surrounded by largely emptyspace, and are circled by tiny electrons, which became known as the Rutherford model (or planetary model) of the atom.

How did Rutherford do his experiment?

Physicist Ernest Rutherford established the nuclear theory of the atom with his gold-foil experiment. When he shot a beam of alpha particles at a sheet of gold foil, a few of the particles were deflected. He concluded that a tiny, dense nucleus was causing the deflections

Did Rutherford discover the proton?

In 1911 Ernest Rutherford who performed many experiments to explore radioactivity did an experiment in which he discovered that the atom must have a concentrated positive center charge that contains most of the atom's mass. He suggested that the nucleus contained a particle with a positive charge theproton.

What did Rutherford think the atom looked like?

The atom consisted of subatomic particles called protons and electrons. However, it was not clear how these protons and electrons were arranged within theatom. J.J. ... Rutherford tested Thomson's hypothesis by devising his "gold foil" experiment.

Why did Rutherford use alpha particles?

The highly variable trajectories of the alpha particles meant that they did not all generate the same number of ions as they passed through the gas, thus producing erratic readings. This puzzled Rutherford because he had thought that alpha particles were just too heavy to be deflected so strongly.