Ernest Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment

Manchester marks Rutherford centenary

Ernest Rutherford, described as the father of nuclear physics, won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1871 - born in New Zealand 1894 - wins a scholarship to Cambridge University 1898 - becomes professor of physics at McGill University, Montreal 1907 - returns to the UK to become professor of physics at Manchester University 1908 - awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 - publishes paper that described the structure of atoms 1914 - receives knighthood 1919 - becomes director of the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge 1925-1930 - president of the Royal Society 1931 - awarded life peerage, becoming Lord Rutherford of Nelson 1937 - died; buried in Westminster Abbey alongside Newton and Kelvin 1997 - the 'rutherford', a unit of radioactivity, was named in his honour

Manchester is hosting a series of events to mark the centenary of a paper by Ernest Rutherford that changed the way we looked at the world and Universe around us.

In 1911, Rutherford, described as the father of nuclear physics, presented his research to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society , which - for the first time - described a "planetary structure" of atoms, one that we still recognise today.

"Before Rutherford, people had thought about atoms as an amorphous lump, the "plum pudding model" we sometimes hear about," explained Catherine Rushmore, science curator at the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi).

"Rutherford pulled together all of the research that had been happening and realised that atomic structure had a really dense nucleus, which was positively charged, with negatively charged electrons circulating a long way away.

"It is almost like the Solar System, where we have the Sun in the middle and planets circulating around it," she told BBC News.

"This visualisation moved things forward so much, and took physics and chemistry in directions that had not really been open to us before."

Until the end of October, Mosi is hosting an exhibition that celebrates the pioneering work of Rutherford, much of which was carried out while he was the Langworthy Professor of Physics at the University of Manchester.

Visitors will be able to see a range of exhibits, some of which have not been on public display before. Among the highlights are Rutherford's writing desk; a draft manuscript of his famous 1911 paper, including notes and amendments he had made; personal correspondence with fellow scientists and lab notebooks.

Chemistry – The Atomic Models and Chemistry | Education And Science

Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes that it undergoes. Since all matter consists of atoms, it is important that you understand the atom and its components especially the electron.

Why the electron? Because the electron configuration determines how an element will behave in chemical bonding and chemical reactions. So if you understand the electron you will better understand chemistry.

However, you must keep in mind that the atom and its components are so small that scientists are unable to work directly with the atom. Therefore, chemists and physicists need to create models to aid in the description of the atom. But, a scientific model is limited to the information available at the time it is created. So, when new experiments lead to new discoveries the model must be changed or discarded.

Despite the fact that scientific models change, models are the only way man has to describe how several natural phenomena work. And knowing how a process functions is often crucial to further scientific discovery. So, models are not truth, models are man’s best estimates at how things work. For that reason, the importance of models is not their truth, but their workability .

Remember that models are created by humans and can have biases, flaws and inaccuracies. Always examine models in the light of the scientific method and be willing to discard that which doesn’t measure up.

Although models are not perfect there are five models of the atom that lead to the understanding of matter. The more you understand these models the better you will be at chemistry. The five models are:

* The Solid Sphere model

Solid Sphere Model

The solid sphere model was proposed in 1803 by John Dalton. John Dalton was an English chemistry and math tutor who took the ideas of his day and put them into a model of how matter was arranged. He stated that matter was made of tiny indivisible particles called atoms and atoms of the same element were all alike. Also, he included the law of multiple proportions and the law of definite composition in his model. Although his model was not perfect it was the main main model for over 90 years.