What was Ernest Rutherford's first major discovery?
The concept of radioactive half-life
The proton
The neutron
The electron
Answer
One of Ernest Rutherford's first major discoveries was the concept of radioactive half-life. This refers to the time it takes for half of a sample of a radioactive substance to decay. This discovery was fundamental to the development of nuclear physics.
Discovering the Atomic Frontier: The Remarkable Life of Ernest Rutherford