Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Road To Discovery Of Atom's Nucleus

This is an interesting and brief historical account Ernest Rutherford's discovery of the nucleus.

The one interesting part that I read is how shrewd he was.

With blossoming international scientific fame, Rutherford was regularly offered posts in America and elsewhere. He accepted none because McGill had superb laboratories and support for research, but he was wise enough to let the McGill authorities know of each approach; they increased his salary each time. However, Rutherford also wished to be nearer the centre of science, which was England, where he would have access to excellent research students and closer contact with notable scientists. His desire was noted. Arthur Schuster, being from a wealthy family, said he would step down from his chair at Manchester University provided that it was offered to Rutherford, and in 1907 Rutherford moved to Manchester.

As always, in reading historical account such as this, it continues to amaze me how many "household names" are involved, either directly or indirectly. We see the involvement of Geiger, Marsden, Bohr, etc...

Zz.

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