Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM,PRS,HonFRSE[7] (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. Rutherford has been described as "the father of nuclear physics",[8] and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday".[9] In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances." He was the first Oceanian Nobel laureate, and the first to perform the awarded work in Canada.
Rutherford's discoveries include the concept of radioactive half-life, the radioactive element radon, and the differentiation and naming of alpha and beta radiation. Together with Thomas Royds, Rutherford is credited with proving that alpha radiation is composed of helium nuclei.[10][11] In 1911, he theorized that atoms have their charge concentrated in a very small nucleus.[12] This was done through his discovery and interpretation of Rutherford scattering during the gold foil experiment performed by Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, resulting in his conception of the Rutherford model of the atom. In 1917, he performed the first artificially-induced nuclear reaction by conducting experiments where nitrogen nuclei were bombarded with alpha particles. As a result, he discovered the emission of a subatomic particle which he initially called the "hydrogen atom", but later (more accurately) named the proton.[13][14] He is also credited with developing the atomic numbering system alongside Henry Moseley. His other achievements include advancing the fields of radio communications and ultrasound technology.
^"University of the Punjab - Science". pu.edu.pk. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023. The expedition included Professor James Martin Benade (Professor of Physics at Forman Christian College Lahore) and Dr. Nazir Ahmad (a PhD student of Ernest Rutherford at Cambridge who later on became the First Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in 1956).
^Grodzins, Lee (February 1994). "Obituaries: Zhang Wen-Yu". Physics Today. 47 (2): 116. doi:10.1063/1.2808417. Zhang studied under Ernest Rutherford in the mid-1930s, receiving his degree from Cambridge University in 1938.
^Zhang Wenyu (张文裕) (28 March 2018). 高能实验物理学家张文裕:回忆导师卢瑟福生命中的最后两年. thepaper.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.