When we have found how the nucleus of atoms is built up we shall have found the greatest secret of all — except life. We shall have found the basis of everything — of the earth we walk on, of the air we breathe, of the sunshine, of our physical body itself, of everything in the world, however great or however small — except life.
Ernest RutherfordAll of physics is either impossible or trivial. It is impossible until you understand it, and then it becomes trivial.
Ernest RutherfordIf, as I have reason to believe, I have disintegrated the nucleus of the atom, this is of greater significance than the war.
Ernest RutherfordRadioactivity is shown to be accompanied by chemical changes in which new types of matter are being continually produced. .... The conclusion is drawn that these chemical changes must be sub-atomic in character.
Ernest Rutherford