## BIG IDEAS - Identified alpha and beta rays (1898). - Interpreted the Geiger-Marsden gold foil experiment. - Named the proton (1920). ### Radiation ### The Nucleus In 1844, Michael Faraday referred to the center of an atom as the nucleus. Ernest Rutherford used the term to describe the small, dense area after analyzing the data from the Geiger-Marsden gold foil experiment. Rutherford proposed the term nucleus but others used the term kernel. The discovery of the neutron established the nature of the nucleus. ### Proton --- Return [[Home|Home]] | [[Notes Vault/Physics Notes Vault/Physics Skills/Physics|Physics]] | [[Physicists]] | [[Structure of the atom]] | [[The Nucleus]] | [[Astrophysics]]