rutherford

n. Ernest Rutherford was a famous scientist who discovered how atoms are built.

n. Refers to Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937), the New Zealand-born physicist known as the father of nuclear physics for his work on atomic structure.

“In science class, we learned about Rutherford and his famous gold foil experiment.”

“Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his investigations into the disintegration of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances.”

n. An old unit used to measure how much radiation something gives off.

n. An obsolete unit of radioactivity defined as one million nuclear disintegrations per second. The SI unit becquerel has largely replaced it.

“The old textbook measured the sample's activity in rutherfords instead of becquerels.”

“Although the rutherford was once a standard measure in nuclear physics, it was superseded by the becquerel in the mid-twentieth century.”

Archaic · Technical

n. A common family name that originally comes from Scotland.

n. A Scottish habitational surname derived from Old English, originally referring to a specific location in the Scottish Borders.

“Mr. Rutherford is the new manager of the local bank.”

“The Rutherford family has a long history in the region, with records of the name dating back several centuries.”