Trump wrongly claims Manchester's atom split feat

Scientists based successful Manchester, not the US, made the "key breakthrough" successful splitting the atom, contempt Donald Trump's claims successful his inaugural speech, says a lecturer astatine 1 of the city's universities.

The 47th US President erroneously listed the feat among his country's achievements during his code successful Washington DC, aft helium was sworn connected Monday.

In fact, the honour belongs to New Zealander Sir Ernest Rutherford, who demonstrated atoms could beryllium divided during experiments astatine Victoria University of Manchester successful 1919.

Dr James Sumner, a lecturer connected the past of exertion astatine the University of Manchester, suggested the president had confused the find with the aboriginal instauration of the atomic bomb.

"I don't deliberation helium [Trump] knew truly what helium was talking about," Dr Sumner said, conceding splitting the atom was a "loose term".

Big technological discoveries thin to pull myths which supposes their instauration to person occurred "at 1 infinitesimal by 1 person", but the overarching probe "tends to request collaboration crossed nationalist boundaries," helium added.

A politician successful New Zealand's South Island said helium was a "bit surprised" by the president's assertion "when that honour belongs to Nelson's astir celebrated and favourite son, Sir Ernest Rutherford".

In a station connected Facebook, Nick Smith, Mayor of Nelson, clarified Sir Ernest's "ground-breaking probe connected vigor communication, radioactivity, the operation of the atom and ultrasound technology" was done astatine universities successful the UK, not the US.

He added helium would beryllium inviting the US ambassador to New Zealand to Nelson, erstwhile appointed, to sojourn the Lord Rutherford Memorial successful Brightwater "so we tin support the historical grounds connected who divided the atom archetypal accurate".

Atoms divided naturally, but successful 1919, Rutherford oversaw the archetypal artificially-induced atomic absorption successful quality past astatine the Victoria University of Manchester's laboratories.

The experimentation progressive bombarding a bladed expanse of golden foil with alpha particles, and earned Rutherford, from Bridgewater connected New Zealand's South Island, the moniker the "father of atomic physics".

Dr Sumner said the absorption Rutherford identified mightiness much accurately beryllium described arsenic the process of an atom "absorbing a spot of worldly and becoming thing heavier".

At the time, a workfellow had suggested Rutherford statement the process "transmutation", but the New Zealander rejected the suggestion, arsenic it "sounded similar helium had discovered the secrets of alchemy", choosing, instead, the word "disintegration", Dr Sumner explained.

"If you're talking splitting successful the consciousness of breaking isolated into 2 equally-sized, oregon astir equally-sized, bits, and doing that deliberately, and knowing what was going on, we've got to spell a spot aboriginal for that," helium said.

Rutherford aboriginal oversaw a squad astatine Cambridge University which successfully broke atoms into 2 parts successful 1932.

"There are assorted antithetic developments which are considered to beryllium splitting the atom successful antithetic senses," Dr Sumner said.

"None of them originated successful the United States."