Our Friend the Atom — Real Life

The aesthetics of the Atomic Age helped whitewash the threat of nuclear disaster

Our Friend the Atom The aesthetics of the Atomic Age helped whitewash the threat of nuclear disaster Becky Alexis-Martin August 11, 2022 share Image: By Konrad Klinkner for Real Life . In 1911, the distinguished physicist Ernest Rutherford proposed a new model of the atom. Drawing upon the vastness of the universe, he presented it as a miniature solar system. In this planetary model , tiny electrons whizzed sequentially across vast swathes of empty space while orbiting a “supergiant” nucleus. The Rutherford diagram would become a visual icon, synonymous with the atom itself: a staple of both s

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