Synopses & Reviews
Ernest Rutherford, who grew up in colonial New Zealand and came to Cambridge on a scholarship, made numerous revolutionary discoveries, among them the orbital structure of the atom and the concept of the 'half-life' of radioactive materials, which led to a massive reevaluation of the age of the earth'"previously judged just 100 million years old. Above all, perhaps, Rutherford and the young men working under him were the first to split the atom, unlocking tremendous forces'"forces, as Rutherford himself predicted, that would bring us the atomic bomb. Rutherford, awarded a Nobel Prize and made Baron Rutherford by the queen of England, was also a great ambassador of science, coming to the aid of colleagues caught in the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Under Rutherford"s rigorous and boisterous direction, a whole new generation of remarkable physicists emerged. In Richard Re"s hands, Rutherford leaps off the page, a ruddy, genial man and a towering figure in scientific history.
Review
"Richard Reeves, in his wonderfully lucid style, renders the genius of Ernest Rutherford, who exposed the inner workings of the atom. A great experimentalist and mentor, Rutherford gave birth to the atomic age in his labs, and Reeves captures the drama, personalities, and science." Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe
Synopsis
"Starred Review. Reeves deploys his considerable writing skill in portraying Rutherford's personality ... capturing the full aspect of the man."--
Synopsis
Born in colonial New Zealand, Ernest Rutherford grew up on the frontier--a different world from Cambridge, to which he won a scholarship at the age of twenty-four. His work revolutionized modern physics. Among his discoveries were the orbital structure of the atom and the concept of the "half-life" of radioactive materials. Rutherford and the young men working under him were the first to split the atom, unlocking tremendous forces--forces, as Rutherford himself predicted, that would bring us the atomic bomb. In Richard Reeves's hands, Rutherford comes alive, a ruddy, genial man and a pivotal figure in scientific history.
Synopsis
"Starred Review. Reeves deploys his considerable writing skill in portraying Rutherford's personality ... capturing the full aspect of the man."'"Booklist
Synopsis
A new intellectual biography of Ernest Rutherford, the twentieth century"s greatest experimental physicist.
About the Author
Richard Reeves, an award-winning historian and columnist, is the author of many books, including President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination. He is a senior lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He splits his time between New York City and Santa Monica, California.