Public Figure Profiles

Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was 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 (1791–1867). Apart from his work in his homeland, he spent a substantial amount of his career abroad, in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

In early work, Rutherford discovered the concept of radioactive half-life, the radioactive element radon, and differentiated and named alpha and beta radiation. This work was performed at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the basis for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry he was awarded in 1908 "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances", for which he was the first Oceanian Nobel laureate, and the first to perform the awarded work in Canada. In 1904, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society.Rutherford moved in 1907 to the Victoria University of Manchester (today University of Manchester) in the UK, where he and Thomas Royds proved that alpha radiation is helium nuclei. Rutherford performed his most famous work after he became a Nobel laureate. In 1911, although he could not prove that it was positive or negative, he theorized that atoms have their charge concentrated in a very small nucleus, and thereby pioneered the Rutherford model of the atom, through his discovery and interpretation of Rutherford scattering by the gold foil experiment of Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden. He performed the first artificially induced nuclear reaction in 1917 in experiments where nitrogen nuclei were bombarded with alpha particles. As a result, he discovered the emission of a subatomic particle which, in 1919, he called the "hydrogen atom" but, in 1920, he more accurately named the proton.Rutherford became Director of the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in 1919. Under his leadership the neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932 and in the same year the first experiment to split the nucleus in a fully controlled manner was performed by students working under his direction, John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton. After his death in 1937, he was buried in Westminster Abbey near Sir Isaac Newton. The chemical element rutherfordium (element 104) was named after him in 1997.

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Some of their strengths

Ernest Rutherford has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Generous, Kind, Passionate, Creative, Intuitive, Imaginative, and Optimistic.

Smart and Sophisticated

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Ernest Rutherford is someone who is a smart, sophisticated, and organized person who displays kindness and grace in every day interactions, and who also has a passionate soul. A person who sees life as a journey not a destination.

Adaptable and Versatile

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Ernest Rutherford well know them as someone who can be adaptable, flexible, and polite, like a flower or a sapling.

Optimistic and Frank

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Ernest Rutherford as someone who is optimistic, principled, adventurous, and direct.

A person who isn't shy about expressing their opinions, loves competition, loves learning things themself, who is known for being inventive and original, and who loves being surrounded by friends and loved ones.

Social and Intuitive

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Ernest Rutherford is someone who values forming deep friendships and relationships, and who has strong intuition and reasoning skills .

They are also someone who is confident and creative, and who has a love for starting new projects, inventing new things, and giving back to the community.

Altruistic and Purposeful

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Ernest Rutherford tends to be someone who has a desire to be of service to a higher calling and who is always trying to perfect things. Who can be practical and polished, reserved and methodical, and who tends to trust internal judgment before trusting anyone else at face value.

Some of Ernest Rutherford's challenges

While Ernest Rutherford has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, Ernest Rutherford can be Difficult, Perfectionist, Indecisive, Unrealistic, Suspicious, Stubborn, and Pushy.

Difficult and Perfectionist

One of Ernest Rutherford's key challenges is that they are someone who can be difficult and too much of a perfectionist.

Ernest Rutherford must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.

Pushy and Restless

Ernest Rutherford is someone who can be arrogant and bossy, who can have difficulty concentrating and focusing, be unable to separate emotions from business decisions, and who can engage in excessive spending in support of an expensive lifestyle and habits.

Critical and Bossy

Finally, Ernest Rutherford also can be too focused on the small details of life, try to control whatever is happening, and be finicky and demanding.

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