Ernest Rutherford: And the Explosion of Atoms (Oxford Portraits in Science) [Hardcover]

J. L. Heilbron (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195123786 | ISBN-13: 978-0195123784 | Publication Date: June 12, 2003

An engaging biography that captures the excitement of the early days of nuclear physics, Ernest Rutherford tells the story of the down-to-earth New Zealander who became one of the foremost pioneers of subatomic physics. Rutherford's achievements were numerous and included:
* Inventing a detector for electromagnetic waves
* Discovering the existence of alpha and beta rays in uranium radiation
* Creating (with Frederick Soddy) the "disintegration theory" of radioactivity, which regards radioactive phenomena as atomic -- not molecular -- processes
* Demonstrating that the inner structures of elements correspond with a group of lines that characterize them, which could then be assigned an atomic number and, more important, the properties of each element could be defined by this number
* And his greatest contribution of all - he discovered that the atom had a nucleus and that it contained the positively charged proton
From his early days as a scholarship student to the end of his life as he continued to work in his lab, Ernest Rutherford reveals the life and times of one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-An introduction to the life and times of the great physicist from his birth in New Zealand in 1871 to his death in 1937. Rutherford's contributions include inventing a detector for electromagnetic waves, creating the disintegration theory of radioactivity, and, first and foremost, discovering the basic structure of the atom. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 and worked on methods of locating submarines during World War I. The book includes numerous captioned, black-and-white photographs of Rutherford, his colleagues, and their laboratories and equipment. Sidebars and diagrams help to explain the many complex principles and equations. The book covers Rutherford's research in fine detail as well as that of many of his colleagues including Hans Geiger, Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, and J. J. Thomson. The author has finely interwoven the political and social context of the time into the significance of his subject's contributions in this authoritative work. A challenging read, it is best suited for serious students with some background in science.
Maren Ostergard, Bellevue Regional Library, WA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The author has finely interwoven the political and social context of the time into the significance of the subjects contribution in this authoritative work." -- School Library Journal

"This series, Oxford Portraits in Science, seeks to provide middle and secondary students with biographies of major figures in the sciences. Told in easy-to-understand language, topics, such as nuclear physics, are deftly handled....A valuable addition to the biography section of a middle through high school library." --Catholic Library World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195123786
• ISBN-13: 978-0195123784
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,211,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Science & Technology > Computers

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good history of science, February 21, 2011

By 

Charles S. Fisher (Woodacre, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ernest Rutherford: And the Explosion of Atoms (Oxford Portraits in Science) (Hardcover)

This is a superbly done history of science. As a book in a series of brief "science portraits" published by Oxford, Heilbron presents a clear picture of Rutherford's contribution to unfolding of the mystery of the atom. He is able to do this in part because Rutherford's emphasis of experiment over mathematically derived theory and because Rutherford worked from visual models. Because it is a brief history all the complexities of continental discussions about the appropriateness of atom models are left out. Nonetheless Heilbron's explication of Rutherford's use of cathode ray tubes, radioactive sources, and detectors is much easier to follow than some other descriptions of the atomic science of the times. The tubes, electric and material deflectors, detectors, tease out elemental facts about atoms and their constituents. Filling in the periodic table is a real scientific puzzle whose solution is understandable and fascinating. When Bohr comes up with his model of the atom based on quantum leaps, we know that science is in a new ball game where Rutherford's outlook and methods need serious revision.

It is nice to know that Rutherford plays a less jingoist role in WWI than some of his colleagues both in England and on the continent. By the war's end we see him like Planck playing more a role in the organization of science than innovative research. Although not wanting his linear accelerator to be bettered by the Berkeley scientists cyclotron, Rutherford accedes to the fact that the cyclotron is a superior research tool.

I enjoyed Heilbron's style of writing with hints of wry humor. We can see how Rutherford and his associates have fulfilled the dream of alchemists: transforming gold into lead. This a very readable book which means, in the field of the history of science, that it excels.

Charlie Fisher emeritus professor and author of Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World