All Science Is Either Physics Or Stamp

I've Just Finished Reading Some Of My Early Papers, And You Know, When I'd Finished I Said To Myself, 'rutherford, My Boy, You Used To Be A Damned Clever Fellow.' (1911)

It Was Almost As Incredible As If You Fired A 15-inch Shell At A Piece Of Tissue Paper And It Came Back And Hit You.

I Congratulate You Both On A Fine Piece Of Work Which I Am Sure Will Ultimately Prove Of Importance. I Am Personally Very Much Interested In Your Results... In The Past I Have Tried A Number Of Experiments... But Without Any Success.

From The Results So Far Obtained It Is Difficult To Avoid The Conclusion That The Long-range Atoms Arising From Collision Of Alpha Particles With Nitrogen Are Not Nitrogen Atoms But Probably Atoms Of Hydrogen, Or Atoms Of Mass 2. If This Be The Case, We Must Conclude That The Nitrogen Atom Is Disintegrated Under The Intense Forces Developed In A Close Collision With A Swift Alpha Particle, And That The Hydrogen Atom Which Is Liberated Formed A Constituent Part Of The Nitrogen Nucleus.

Splitting The Atom Is Like Trying To Shoot A Gnat In The Albert Hall At Night And Using Ten Million Rounds Of Ammunition On The Off Chance Of Getting It. That Should Convince You That The Atom Will Always Be A Sink Of Energy And Never A Reservoir Of Energy.