Rutherford at Cambridge

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 61, 23 August 1940, Page 6

Rutherford at Cambridge

RUTHERFORD worked tremendously hard at Cambridge, which he entered as the first research student from the youngest university in the Dominions. Two or three of the demonstrators nourished the ancient prejudice that no good things can come from overseas, and ridiculed Rutherford, Finally, as they rather got on his nerves, he asked them into his room to discuss some experimental difficulties. After that they gave him no further trouble, for they realised they had not the faintest idea about his work. At the Cavendish Laboratory, he first improved his detector for electric waves. . . His ability spread quickly among the younger men. One of them in a letter referred to him as "a rabbit from the Antipodes, who is burrowing mighty deep." He made his detector so sensitive that he could receive wireless waves from nearly a mile away after they had passed through brick walls and similar obstacles. The work brought him into prominence, for many leading scientists saw and were surprised by his experiments. When only 25, Rutherford appeared before the Royal Society in London-a great event in a young scientist’s life. Soon after he gave an address with experiments, before the British Association. As occasionally happens when one is excited in demonstrating before a distinguished audience, the apparatus refused to function. I’ve heard this referred to-in an undertone-as the law of the cussedness of Nature. Rutherford was not upset. He coolly said: "Something has gone wrong! If you would all like to go for a stroll and a smoke for 5 minutes, it will be working on your return." The audience was pleased, and sure enough they saw the experiment.-(Dr. C. M. Focken, "Lord Rutherford’s Influence on Science,’ 4YA August 6).