Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford, (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", and "the greatest
experimentalist since Michael Faraday". 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. He
theorized that atoms have their charge concentrated in a very small nucleus. 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. 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.

Early life and education

Ernest Rutherford was born on 30 August 1871 in Brightwater, a town near
Nelson, New Zealand. He was the fourth of twelve children of James Rutherford,
an immigrant farmer and mechanic from Perth, Scotland, and his wife Martha
Thompson, a schoolteacher from Hornchurch, England.
Rutherford studied at Nelson College and later attended the University of New
Zealand. He completed his undergraduate studies at Canterbury College,
University of New Zealand (now the University of Canterbury) in Christchurch.
He then received a scholarship to study at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of
Cambridge, under J.J. Thomson.

Major Contributions and Discoveries

Radioactive Decay and Half-Life:

 Rutherford’s early work involved studying the radioactive decay of

elements, leading to the concept of half-life, which describes the time it
takes for half of a radioactive substance to decay.

Discovery of Alpha and Beta Radiation:

 He distinguished between alpha and beta radiation, two different types of

emissions from radioactive substances.

Gold Foil Experiment (1911):

 Rutherford conducted the famous gold foil experiment where he directed

alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. Most particles passed through, but
some were deflected at large angles.
 This led to the revolutionary discovery that atoms have a small, dense,
positively charged nucleus, with electrons orbiting around it. This
overturned the previous plum pudding model proposed by J.J. Thomson.

Nuclear Model of the Atom:

 The results of the gold foil experiment led Rutherford to propose the nuclear
model of the atom, which became the foundation for modern atomic physics.

Discovery of the Proton:

 In 1917, Rutherford discovered the proton, the positively charged particle in

the nucleus of an atom.

Nobel Prize:
  In 1908, Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his
investigations into the disintegration of the elements and the chemistry of
radioactive substances.

Later Life and Legacy

 Rutherford held several prestigious positions, including the Chair of Physics
at the University of Manchester and later the Cavendish Professorship at
Cambridge.
 He mentored several other prominent physicists, including Niels Bohr and
James Chadwick, who discovered the neutron.
 Death: Rutherford passed away on October 19, 1937, in Cambridge,
England.

Marie Sklodowska Curie

Maria Salomea Sklodowska-Curie; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known
simply as Marie Curie, was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist
who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to
win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person
to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-
winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first married couple to win the
Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was,
in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

Early life and education

Maria Sklodowska was born in Warsaw, in Congress Poland in the Russian
Empire, on 7 November 1867, the fifth and youngest child of well-known teachers
Bronisława, née Boguska, and Władysław Sklodowska.
Education: Despite the restrictions on women's education in Poland, Curie
managed to receive a solid scientific education. She moved to Paris in 1891 to
study at the Sorbonne, where she earned degrees in physics and mathematics.

Major Contributions and Discoveries

Discovery of Radioactive Elements:

 Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, discovered the elements polonium
(named after Poland) and radium in 1898. Their research involved isolating
radioactive isotopes and studying their properties.

Theory of Radioactivity:

 Marie Curie developed the theory of radioactivity (a term she coined), which
describes the emission of radiation from unstable atomic nuclei.

Medical Applications of Radioactivity:

  During World War I, Curie developed mobile radiography units to provide
X-ray services to field hospitals. Her efforts greatly improved the medical
treatment of wounded soldiers.

Nobel Prizes:

 In 1911, she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of radium
and polonium, and for her investigation of radium's properties.

 In 1903, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel were awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics for their combined work on radioactivity.

Later Life and Legacy

 Research Institute: Curie founded the Radium Institute (now the Curie
Institute) in Paris, which became a leading center for nuclear physics and
chemistry research.
 Death: Marie Curie died on July 4, 1934, from aplastic anemia, likely
caused by her prolonged exposure to high levels of radiation during her
research

William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay ( 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who
discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in
recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air"
along with his collaborator, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, who received
the Nobel Prize in Physics that same year for their discovery of argon. After the
two men identified argon, Ramsay investigated other atmospheric gases. His work
in isolating argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon led to the development of a
new section of the periodic table.

Early life and education

Ramsay was born at 2 Clifton Street in Glasgow on 2 October 1852, the son of
civil engineer and surveyor, William C. Ramsay, and his wife, Catherine
Robertson. The family lived at 2 Clifton Street in the city center, a three-Storey
and basement Georgian townhouse. The family moved to 1 Oak vale Place in the
Hillhead district in his youth. He was a nephew of the geologist Sir Andrew
Ramsay.
Education: Ramsay studied at the University of Glasgow and then at the
University of Tübingen in Germany, where he earned his Ph.D. under the
supervision of organic chemist Wilhelm Rudolph Fittig.

Major Contributions and Discoveries

Discovery of Noble Gases:

 Argon: In 1894, Ramsay and the physicist Lord Rayleigh discovered argon
in the Earth's atmosphere. They noticed that nitrogen extracted from air had
a different density than nitrogen derived from chemical compounds, leading
them to identify argon as a new element.

 Helium: In 1895, Ramsay discovered helium on Earth by treating the

mineral cleveite with acid. Helium had been previously detected in the solar
spectrum but not on Earth.
 Neon, Krypton, and Xenon: In 1898, Ramsay, along with his colleague
Morris Travers, discovered neon, krypton, and xenon by fractional
distillation of liquid air.
  Radon: Ramsay also investigated radon, the last noble gas to be discovered,
although its identification is often attributed to Friedrich Ernst Dorn.

Periodic Table:

 Ramsay’s discoveries significantly contributed to the development of the

periodic table. He added an entire new group, the noble gases, to the
periodic table, filling in the gaps and improving its structure.

Later Life and Legacy

Academic Positions: Ramsay held several prominent academic positions, including

the Chair of Chemistry at University College London, where he conducted much of
his groundbreaking work.

Death: Sir William Ramsay passed away on July 23, 1916, in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire, England.

Paul Sabatier
Paul Sabatier; 5 November 1854 – 14 August 1941) was a French chemist, born in
Carcassonne. In 1912, Sabatier was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along
with Victor Grignard. Sabatier was honored for his work improving the
hydrogenation of organic species in the presence of metals. particularly known for
the Sabatier process, which involves the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to
produce methane.

Early life and education

Sabatier studied at the École Normale Supérieure, starting in 1874. Three years
later, he graduated at the top of his class. In 1880, he was awarded a Doctor of
Science degree from the College de France.

Sabatier's earliest research concerned the thermochemistry of sulfur and metallic

sulfates, the subject for the thesis leading to his doctorate. In Toulouse, he
continued his physical and chemical investigations to sulfides, chlorides,
chromates and copper compounds. He also studied the oxides of nitrogen and
nitrosodisulfonic acid and its salts and carried out fundamental research on
partition coefficients and absorption spectra. Sabatier greatly facilitated the
industrial use of hydrogenation. In 1897, building on the recent biochemical work
of the American chemist, James Boyce, he discovered that the introduction of a
trace amount of nickel (as a catalyst) facilitated the addition of hydrogen to
molecules of most carbon compounds.

Major Contributions and Discoveries

Catalysis and the Sabatier Process:

  In 1897, Sabatier discovered that nickel could act as a catalyst for the
hydrogenation of carbon dioxide and other unsaturated compounds. This
reaction is known as the Sabatier process.
 This discovery was foundational for the field of catalysis and had significant
industrial applications, including the production of synthetic fuels and
chemicals.

Hydrogenation of Organic Compounds:

 Sabatier extended his work to the hydrogenation of various organic

compounds, using different metals as catalysts, notably nickel, cobalt, and
copper.
 His research demonstrated the importance of catalysts in chemical reactions,
enhancing the efficiency and selectivity of many industrial processes.

Later Life and Legacy

 Academic Positions: Sabatier held various academic positions, including a
professorship at the University of Toulouse, where he spent most of his
career and conducted his groundbreaking research.
 Death: Paul Sabatier passed away on August 14, 1941, in Toulouse, France.

Alfred Werner

Alfred Werner (12 December 1866 – 15 November 1919) was a Swiss chemist
who was a student at ETH Zurich and a professor at the University of Zurich. He
won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1913 for proposing the octahedral
configuration of transition metal complexes. Werner developed the basis for
modern coordination chemistry. He was the first inorganic chemist to win the
Nobel Prize, and the only one prior to 1973. He revolutionized the understanding
of chemical bonding and the structure of complex compounds.

Early life and education

Werner was born in 1866 in Mulhouse, Alsace (which was then part of France, but
which was annexed by Germany in 1871). He was raised as Roman Catholic. He
was the fourth and last child of Jean-Adam Werner, a foundry worker, and his
second wife, Salomé Jeanette Werner, who originated from a wealthy family. He
went to Switzerland to study chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich.
Still, since this institute was not empowered to grant doctorates until 1909, Werner
received a doctorate formally from the University of Zürich in 1890.[3] After
postdoctoral study in Paris, he returned to the Swiss Federal Institute to teach
(1892). In 1893 he moved to the University of Zurich, where he became a
professor in 1895. In 1894 he became a Swiss citizen.

Major Contributions and Discoveries

Coordination Chemistry:

 Werner is most famous for his development of coordination theory, which

explained the structures of complex inorganic compounds. His
groundbreaking work in the early 20th century laid the foundation for
modern coordination chemistry.
 He proposed that metal ions can form complex ions with molecules or
anions, known as ligands, in specific geometric arrangements. This was a
major departure from previous theories that could not explain the bonding in
coordination compounds.

Werner's Theory of Coordination Compounds:

 Werner’s theory described how central metal atoms or ions are surrounded
by a specific number of ligands. He introduced the concept of coordination
number, which is the number of ligand atoms bonded to the central atom.
  He distinguished between primary valence (oxidation state) and secondary
valence (coordination number), explaining how metals can bind with
multiple ligands.

Stereochemistry of Coordination Compounds:

 Werner was the first to synthesize and characterize many coordination

compounds, demonstrating that they can exist in different geometric forms
(isomers). He provided evidence for octahedral, tetrahedral, and square
planar arrangements of ligands around central metal ions.
 His work on the stereochemistry of coordination compounds demonstrated
the importance of spatial arrangements in chemical reactions and properties.

Later Life and Legacy

 Impact on Chemistry: Werner’s theories transformed the understanding of
inorganic chemistry and influenced many other areas of chemistry, including
bioinorganic chemistry and materials science.
 Death: Alfred Werner passed away on November 15, 1919, in Zurich,
Switzerland.