Ernest Rutherford Discovers Radioactivity

In 1899, Ernest Rutherford was studying the absorption of radioactivity. He had shot particles at thin sheets of metal foil and found 2 things: alpha radiation, which is absorbed by thousandths of centi meters of metal foil, and beta radiation, which can pass through 100 times as much foil before being absorbed. The two types of radiation differ in the way electric and magnetic fields affect them. When there is more of a magnetic field, the alpha particles reflected slower than the beta particles, indicating that the alpha particles were heavier. He and Marie Curie had also

found that the particles have an electric charge, but they are opposites. They found that out when passing them through an electric field. So when atoms are radioactive, they are decaying, or generating alot of energy from their electrons spinning.  

 

Thank you for viewing. This was part of a project I did for my AP Chemistry class. I had to research Ernest Rutherford who I originally knew a lot about, and I got a 95. I got five points taken off because i spilled coke on my paper. Which I did not think was fair at all. If you want to learn more about Ernest Rutherford, check out my other columns.