Chemistry Engineering Essay Research Paper Coursework (Essay Sample)

RUTHERFORD CONTRIBUTION TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ATOMIC STRUCTURE.
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Rutherford contribution to our understanding of the atomic structure
Matter is everywhere around us. Objects are made up of matter. But matter can be divided into small particles known as atoms. Atoms smallest units of matter are the building blocks of everything we see, smell and even taste. The concept of tiny divisible particles coming together to form larger mass dates back to the dark ages. Democritus a Greek philosopher in the dark ages proposed that all objects are made up of tiny indivisible particles. In 1803, john Dalton a British scientist proposed a simple atomic model. In Dalton’s model, the tiny atoms were considered to be indivisible as they were considered to the smallest units of mass. The idea of an indivisible atom was however rejected in 1897 when J.J Thomson a British physicist discovered the presence of negatively charged particles later now as electrons in the atom CITATION Cha09 \l 1033 (Chalmers, 2009).
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1. Represents Democritus and Dalton atom model CITATION Cha09 \l 1033 (Chalmers, 2009)
Ernest Rutherford was a New Zealand chemist and the father of nuclear physics. While working in out of the laboratory at the University of Cambridge, Rutherford made several major discoveries that would our understanding of the atomic structure forever. He was credited with the discovery of the nucleus, the proton particles, the neutron particles, development of the nucleus model which showed that the nucleus was much smaller when compared to the entire space occupied by the atom and finally the disintegration of elements when exposed to high sources of energy otherwise known as radioactive decay CITATION Cha10 \l 1033 (Chalmers, 2010).