Tribute To Lord Rutherford

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27734, 11 August 1955, Page 13

Tribute To Lord Rutherford

GENEVA, August 9. Dr. Nils Bohr, the eminent Danish scientist a|nd Nobel Prize winner, paid tribute tonight to the memory of great scientists such as Lord Rutherford, the New Zealand-born physicist who first split the atom. He died in 1937. Dr. Bohr, who was inaugurating a series of public lectures on the peaceful uses of the atom, said: “The. development of modern atomic science is the outcome of a most intense international co-operation, in which the progress has been so rapid and the intercourse so intimate that it is often impossible to disentangle the contribution of individuals to the common enterprise. “In this address I Shall abstain from mentioning names of living scientists, but I feel that we are united in paying tribute to the memory of Ernest Rutherford, who, with such vigour, explored the new field of research opened by the great discoveries of Roentgen, Thomson. Becquerel, and the Curies. “We think not only of Rutherford’s fundamental discoveries of the atomic nucleus and its trimsmutability, but, above all, of the inspiration with which, through so many years, he guided the development of this new branch of physical science.” Speaking of the responsibility of scientists, Dr. Bohr declared: “Our whole civilisation is confronted with a most serious challenge, demanding an adjustment of the relationship between nations to ensure that unprecedented menaces can be eliminated and all neonle in common can strive for the fulfilment of the promises offered by the progress of science, for promotion of human welfare all over our globe.”

Cyanide Pollntes River.— Cyanide, which has killed an estimated 50.000 fish in the River Trent, near Nottingham, is blamed for the illness of a party of six sea scouts. They had violent stomach pains and sickness after swimming in the river, but after eight hours all recovered.—London. August 10.