Ernest Rutherford's family emigrated from England to New Zealand before he was born. They ran a successful farm near Nelson, where Ernest was born. One of 12 children, he liked the hard work and open ...

With the International Year of the Periodic Table of Elements in full swing, John Campbell celebrates the immense contribution of Ernest Rutherford, who first split the atom 100 years ago ...

As a young boy growing up in rural New Zealand, Ernest Rutherford once tried to measure the distance of a thunderstorm by counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. His father, ...

Photo: Niels Bohr's research notes for his new atomic theory Rutherford's find came from a very strange experience. Everyone at that time imagined the atom as a "plum pudding." That is, it was roughly ...