Ernest Rutherford and the Birth of Modern Physics

Albert Einstein called Ernest Rutherford a 'second Newton'.

In just a few dramatic decades from the late nineteenth century, scientists upended what we thought we knew about the world around us, opening up a universe of waves, particles, and forces that enabled radical new inventions from radio to TV, X-ray machines to smoke detectors.

A key mover of this new wave of science was Ernest Rutherford, a no-nonsense New Zealander who became known as the 'father of the atom'. A driven personality who created teams of influential physicists wherever he worked, Rutherford made astounding discoveries that helped shape much of the way we understand physics today.

Taking Rutherford's life and work as a vehicle to steer the journey, Ernest Rutherford and the Birth of Modern Physics reveals why this science seized the public imagination and why Rutherford's contribution was integral to the technical revolution of the twentieth century. It explains how that science works, with detailed explanations and diagrams.