Ernest Walton

Ernest Walton (1903–1995) was an Irish physicist who, with John Cockcroft, used accelerated protons to split lithium nuclei in 1932, demonstrating artificial nuclear disintegration.

Cockcroft–Walton experiment: The 1932 experiment in which accelerated protons split lithium nuclei, producing alpha particles. Walton and Cockcroft’s apparatus made this demonstration of artificial nuclear disintegration possible.
Cockcroft–Walton generator: A voltage-multiplying circuit that uses capacitors and diodes to produce high direct-current voltage. It supplied the high voltage that accelerated protons in Walton and Cockcroft’s apparatus.
Methodist College Belfast: A coeducational grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, founded in 1868. Walton attended the school before studying science at university.
Nuclear physics: The branch of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their interactions. The experiment helped make controlled nuclear reactions accessible to laboratory study.
Nuclear transmutation: The conversion of one atomic nucleus into another through a nuclear reaction. The lithium reaction showed that particle bombardment could deliberately change nuclei.
Particle accelerator: A device that uses electric or electromagnetic fields to increase the speed and energy of charged particles. The experiment belonged to the emerging technology of accelerating particles to probe matter.
Trinity College Dublin: A research university in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1592. Walton studied mathematics and science there before moving to Cambridge.
Particle physics: The study of fundamental particles and the forces governing their interactions. Accelerators developed for nuclear experiments later became central tools for particle physics.
Cavendish Laboratory: A physics laboratory at the University of Cambridge, founded by James Clerk Maxwell in 1874. Walton carried out the pioneering experiment there with Cockcroft.
Proton: A positively charged subatomic particle found in atomic nuclei. Accelerated protons struck lithium nuclei in the experiment.

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