In memory of a physicist

1993/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Fisika

Born in New Zealand the most famous atomic physicist on Earth, Ernest Rutherford. In his honor, for the first time in the bank meetings his photo has been placed instead of that of the Queen.

In 1908, with 37 years he won the Nobel Prize for three activities: for developing the theory of radioactive decay of elements, determining the nature of alpha particles and studying the interior of the atomic nucleus.

The new $100 banknote, along with the Rutherford photo, shows a graph representing the different products resulting from the core disintegration.

Analyzing the behavior of Alpha particles, in 1911 Rutherford proposed such a popular planet model. This model indicated that most of the mass of the atom was stored in a small central nucleus.

In 1919, together with James Chadwick, he managed to convert oxygen atoms into nitrogen in the Cambridge Cavendish laboratory.