1. Ernest Rutherford By Mania Sehgal, Catherine Cincotta, Alec Tripodi

2.  Ernest Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871 in New Zealand.  He received most of his education at the Government schools, but at the age of 16, he entered Nelson Collegiate school.  In 1889, he proceeded to the University of New Zealand where he entered Canterbury College.  He graduated M.A in 1893 with a double first in Mathematics and Physical Science.

3.  This experiment involved the firing of radioactive particles through minutely thin metal foils and detecting them using screens coated with zinc sulfide.  Rutherford found that although the vast majority of particles passed straight through the foil approximately 1 in 8000 were deflected leading him to his theory that most of the atom was made up of 'empty space'.

4. This diagram shows the scattering of the alpha particles after hitting the gold foil.

5. Ernest Rutherford publishes his atomic theory describing the atom as having a central positive nucleus surrounded by negative orbiting electrons. This model suggested that most of the mass of the atom was contained in the small nucleus, and that the rest of the atom was mostly empty space. Rutherford came to this conclusion following the results of his famous gold foil experiment.

6.  Discovered the model of the atom, neutron and the proton(2).  He discovered the atomic nucleus and developed the model of the atom which was similar to the solar system.  In 1893, he developed a timing system which was able to switch circuits in one 100000th of a second.  Rutherford discovered that there are two types of radioactive atoms, and these are now called the alpha and beta rays.  Rutherford developed the atomic number which allows us to quickly define basic properties of an atom.  One of his major achievements was at Cavendish laboratory where he bombarded nitrogen with alpha particles, Rutherford demonstrated the production of a different element, oxygen.

7. Atomic Structure The findings of Ernest Rutherford advanced our understanding of the atomic structure since his experiments led us to learn about the model of the atom. Such as, the protons, and neutrons. Therefore, without his discoveries, much of the information we know today might have been found a different way. Rutherford’s atom resembled a tiny solar system with the positively charged nucleus always at the center and the electrons revolving around the nucleus.

8.  "Ernest Rutherford." Open-site.org. Chefmoz.org, 2010. Web. 29 Oct 2010.  "Ernest Rutherford." Thocp.net. Footnotes, 27 October 2007. Web. 29 Oct 2010.  "Ernest Rutherford - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 29 Oct 2010. Web.  "Historical Figures." Access Excelence Classroom. Accessexcelence.org, 2009. Web. 3 Nov 2010.