The Faraday Lecture: ¿Atoms, Electrons and Engineers¿

Salient features of modern atomic theory are described, and some common substances and processes used in engineering are examined in the light of this theory. The theory began with Sir J. J. Thomson´s discovery of the electron, and was greatly modified by Lord Rutherford´s experiments on the scattering of ¿-particles. Nuclear theory is based on Rutherford´s pioneer experiments on the disintegration of nitrogen atoms, and on the early researches on the radioactive substances, and Einstein´s theory explains the origin of nuclear energy. Uranium fission, discovered in 1939, is described, and the use made of this during and since the Second World War is given in outline.