James Chadwick
James Chadwick is not a household name. Yet he made one of the most significant contributions to science ever. He discovered the neutron, and by doing so, he allowed the modern world of science, medicine and technology to become what they are today. Without him, the world might not have turned out the same.Born to a middle class family in England, Chadwick attended boarding school. In 1907, while going to the university of Manchester, James Chadwick accidentally found himself in the line for those hoping to major in physics. Chadwick, who wanted to be a mathematician, was too shy to acknowledge his mistake and stayed in line. In 1913, he received his master's degree and went to Germany to work with Hans Geiger. While there, Chadwick was the first person to show that beta particles have a range of energies. The world was rapidly changing, and Chadwick was trapped right in the middle of it all. He became trapped in Germany during the start of World War I. Chadwick was immediately imprisoned in a horse stall at a racetrack that served as an internment camp. This was a terrible time in the world. Many countries in Europe were against each other in a war, while one of the smartest men ever was sitting locked up in a horse stall. For
He "remained at Cambridge until 1935 when he was elected to the Lyon Jones Chair of Physics in the University of Liverpool. From 1943 to 1946 he worked in the United States as Head of the British Mission attached to the Manhattan Project for the development of the atomic bomb (Lawren 112)". He returned to England and, in 1948, retired from active physics and his position at Liverpool on his election as Master of Gonville and Caius College, in Cambridge. He retired from this Mastership in 1959. From 1957 to 1962 he was a part time member of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. 1.) Brown, Andrew, The Neutron and the Bomb (Oxford, 1997) the first (but major) biography of Chadwick. Chadwick's own research focused on radioactivity. In 1919, Rutherford had discovered the proton, a positively charged particle within the atom's nucleus. But they and other researchers were finding that the proton did not seem to be the only particle in the nucleus. James Chadwick was one of the most important scientists of his or any other time. His work on the Manhattan Project helped to end World War II. What would have happened, however, if he had gotten on the correct line when registering for classes? Sometimes the most amazing discoveries are the result of an accident, an irony, or some other serendipitous event that takes place. James Chadwick is not a household name like Einstein, but his discovery paved the way for much of what we learn and know today.
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Approximate Word count = 991
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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