Final answer:
Lord Ernest Rutherford is credited with the discovery of the atomic nucleus through his gold foil experiment, leading to the nuclear model of the atom. He proposed the existence of the proton and predicted the neutron, later discovered by his student James Chadwick.
Step-by-step explanation:
The scientist usually given credit for the discovery of the atomic nucleus is Lord Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand-born physicist. Rutherford's work at McGill University in Canada led to a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. He is known as the "father of nuclear physics" for his pioneering work in the field. His famous gold foil experiment, utilizing alpha particle scattering, directly examined the size and mass of the atomic nucleus. This experiment led to the nuclear model of the atom, where a small, dense, positively charged nucleus is surrounded by electrons.
In 1911, Rutherford proposed that the atom contained a central nucleus that housed most of the atom's mass. He later coined the term "proton" in 1920 for the nucleus of hydrogen and suggested the existence of a neutral particle, the neutron, which was discovered later by James Chadwick in 1932. Rutherford's innovative methods and profound insights significantly advanced the understanding of atomic structure, shaping modern nuclear physics and chemistry.