*People make large amounts of shuffling noise while being seated*
Defense lawyer Lela Rosen: Lord Ernest Rutherford is being charge here today with not being revelant to the discovery and further study of the interior of an atom. I am here to prove this accusation false. The defense would like to call Lord Ernest Rutherford to the stand.
* Rutherford is seated at the stand and recities "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God"*
L.R.: Mr Rutherford, before we start off, tell us a little about your earlier years.
Ernest Rutherford: Well, let's see, I was born on August 30th, 1871 in Nelson, New Zealand. My father, James, was a Scottish wheelwright who immigrated to New Zealand with his father and their family about 30 years before. My mother Martha, who moved there in 1855, met my father and started a family of 7 boys and 5 girls. I was born 4th as well as being the second son. We were quite a rowdy bunch of children back then. When I was old enough I was off to Government schools until the age of 16 were I entered Nelson Collegiate School. Two years later I recieved the University scholarship which I used to go to the University of New Zealand and later Canterburry College. I graduated with a M.A. in Mathematics and Physical Sciences and then later a B.Sc.
L.R.: Thank you Mr. Rutherford. Now after your education what did you do?
E.R.: After I graduated in 1897 ( After 1893 I recieved several scholarships and internships in Canada) I went to England to teach physics at the University of Manchester.
D.L.: Interesting. Now, it was there that you were discovered by Sir Josph Thomson in 1919, correct?
E.R.: Yes, he was interested in some of my first researches which dealt with the magnetic properties of iron exposed to high frequency's. I'm actually quite proud of the fact that my thesis was published and entitled, Magnetization of Iron by High-Frequency Discharges.
L.R.: Very nice, and this is one of the thesises that came from your works with gold foil?
Prosecutor: Objection your honor! The defendant never mentioned anything about gold foil!
J.S.P.: That's a valid statement. Objection overruled. Please continue...
L.R.: Thank you. Now as I was saying, could you please explain your works with gold foil?
E.R.: Certainly. Now before the gold foil experiment I knew that I wanted to study the inner structure of atoms. So in 1906, I discovered the scarttering of alpha particles by air. Using this research I designed an experiment that allowed me to test the density of atoms. I had two wonderful assistants who helped me in this process.
L.R.: Can you point those two me out to us in this courtroom?
E.R.: Yes, they are sitting right over there.
* Rutherford points to Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden who are sitting in the second row*
E.R.: Now as I was saying.. What I did with the gold foil experiment was in 1911 I threw positive alpha particals at a very thin piece of gold foil, being 8.6 x 10 to the negative 6th power cm thick. The sheet was so thin that it had to be supported by a piece of glass. What I discovered when I shot the positve alpha particals into the foil was that most of the particals, 98% percent of them passed straight through the gold atoms. However 1 out of every 20,000 alpha particals were deflected at angles of 90 degrees or more, and others deflected at less than or equal to 2 degrees.
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