Abstract
IN the second part of his address, Lord Rutherford described the applications of atomic projectiles-After considering the way in which swift α-particles from radioactive substances have been used for throwing light on the dimensions of the atomic nucleus, he gave an interesting account of experiments on the transmutation of matter. This has been effected by the bombardment of matter by swift atomic projectiles of different kinds. In 1919, Rutherford was able to demonstrate the disintegration of the nitrogen nucleus as a result of a close collision with an α-particle in which a swift proton was expelled. The discovery of the ‘neutron’ followed upon experiments by Bothe, who observed a very penetrating type of radiation when beryllium was bombarded by a-particles. Chadwick carried out further experiments by counting methods, and concluded that the radiation consists of a flight of material particles which are supposed to be close combinations of a proton and an electron. Within the last year, Cockcroft and Walton have obtained definite evidence that certain atoms can be transformed by a stream of fast protons produced artificially in a discharge tube. This new method of attack, so successfully begun, is certain to give us much new information on the structure of nuclei and the problem of the transmutation of the elements.
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Effects of Atomic Bombardment. Nature 130, 731 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130731a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130731a0