Ernest RutherfordBorn on August 30, 1871 in New Zealand, Ernest Rutherford became one of many successful chemists around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. With his brilliant experiments he explained the disconcerting problem of radioactivity and the sudden breaking of atoms. Furthermore, he determined the structure of the atom and was the first to break it down. Rutherford's great mind sparked new technology innovations such as the smoke detector that saves many lives today. Ernest Rutherford's family consisted of twelve children, Ernest being the fourth oldest. His parents, James and Martha Rutherford, were middle-class people. Martha was a school teacher, so Ernest and the other eleven children always received a good education and were encouraged to study instead of work. Ernest did exceptionally well in school, but excelled in science. At the age of ten he received his first science book. Inspired by the book he tried to create different types of experiments, for example a miniature cannon which was unsuccessful but was a figment of his imagination. At the age of sixteen, Ernest received a scholarship to attend Nelson College, there he did better than everyone else and still managed to become captain of the rugby team. He later attended Canterbury College where he further improved his mathematical and arithmetic skills. Thanks to his excellent work at Canterbury College, Ernest won a national scholarship to the University of New Zealand. At this University he obtained a master's degree in mathematics and physics. He was therefore ready to put his skills to good use and apply his studies to create something great. At the age of 23, Ernest left for England in 1895. In England he studied for three years at Cambridge University. Working with Professor JJ Thomson at the Cavendish Laboratory, Ernest researched the 'conduction of electricity' which aided Professor J. Thomson's discovery of an electron. With this in hand, Ernest discovered two "charges" that were released from radioactive atoms that he discovered himself in 1896, and called these "charges" alpha and beta rays. His other discoveries included "ingenious techniques for studying the mechanism by which normally insulating gases become electrical conductors when a high voltage is applied to them." When X-rays were discovered, he used them to initiate electrical conduction in gases.