Rutherford, discussing the results of a 1909 experiment investigating alpha particle scattering, during the Cawthron Lecture at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson, New Zealand in 1925. Quoted in Arthur Stewart Eve (1939). Rutherford: Being the Life and Letters of the Rt. Hon. Lord Rutherford, O. M., p. 311
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It is just as surprising as if a gunner fired a shell at a single sheet of paper and for some reason or other the projectile bounded back again.
— Ernest Rutherford
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It is just as surprising as if a gunner fired a shell at a single sheet of paper and for some reason or other the projectile bounded back again." in the context of "Rutherford, discussing the results of a 1909 experiment investigating alpha particle scattering, during the Cawthron Lecture at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson, New Zealand in 1925. Quoted in Arthur Stewart Eve (1939). Rutherford: Being the Life and Letters of the Rt. Hon. Lord Rutherford, O. M., p. 311" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ernest Rutherford" (Quotes: listed in chronological order)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM PC FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nuclear physics", and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday". In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances." He was the first Oceanian Nobel laureate, and the first to perform the awarded work in Canada.
About Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM PC FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nuclear physics", and "the greatest experimentalist since Michael Faraday". In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances." He was the first Oceanian Nobel laureate, and the first to perform the awarded work in Canada.
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