This defied the existing atomic model, which assumed atoms were uniformly spread out. From this, Rutherford proposed a revolutionary new model of the atom. He suggested that the atom consists of a ...

Acceptance of this model grew after it was modified with quantum theory by Niels Bohr. For his work with radiation and the atomic nucleus, Rutherford received the 1908 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

In 1912 Bohr joined Rutherford. He realized that Rutherford's model wasn't quite right. By all rules of classical physics, it should be very unstable. For one thing, the orbiting electrons should ...