Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRSwas a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. Encyclopædia Britannica considers him to be the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday...
NationalityNew Zealander
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth30 August 1871
CityBrightwater, New Zealand
night gnats trying
Splitting the atom is like trying to shoot a gnat in the Albert Hall at night and using ten million rounds of ammunition on the off chance of getting it. That should convince you that the atom will always be a sink of energy and never a reservoir of energy.
men administration steps
It is essential for men of science to take an interest in the administration of their own affairs or else the professional civil servant will step in - and then the Lord help you.
running thinking gentleman
Gentlemen, we have run out of money. It is time to start thinking.
war mean air
The greatest contributor to the feeling of tension and fear of war arose from the power of the bombing aeroplane. If all nations would consent to abolish air bombardment . . . that would mean the greatest possible release from fear.
physics collecting stamp-collecting
That which is not measurable is not science. That which is not physics is stamp collecting.
europe matter rays
The great object is to find the theory of the matter [of X-rays] before anyone else, for nearly every professor in Europe is now on the warpath.
hydrogen-atom long atoms
From the results so far obtained it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the long-range atoms arising from collision of alpha particles with nitrogen are not nitrogen atoms but probably atoms of hydrogen, or atoms of mass 2. If this be the case, we must conclude that the nitrogen atom is disintegrated under the intense forces developed in a close collision with a swift alpha particle, and that the hydrogen atom which is liberated formed a constituent part of the nitrogen nucleus.
war believe apology
If, as I have reason to believe, I have disintegrated the nucleus of the atom, this is of greater significance than the war.
science odds should
You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than about 10-12 to 1.
unexpected metamorphosis chemist
I must confess it was very unexpected and I am very startled at my metamorphosis into a chemist.
engineering needs physics
The more physics you have the less engineering you need.
science gentleman
Gentlemen, now you will see that now you see nothing. And why you see nothing you will see presently.
character matter stamp-collecting
Radioactivity is shown to be accompanied by chemical changes in which new types of matter are being continually produced. .... The conclusion is drawn that these chemical changes must be sub-atomic in character.
witty humorous science
All science is either physics or stamp collecting.