A science-related comment made by President Trump during an inauguration address on Tuesday sparked online backlash, particularly among New Zealanders. Trump said Americans "crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted millions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand." The atom assertion is the problematic part, as it contradicts the widely acknowledged achievement of Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander recognized as the father of nuclear physics.
In 1917, while at a university in Manchester, UK, Rutherford distinguished himself as the first to artificially induce a nuclear reaction. The milestone is also credited to scientists John Douglas Cockroft and Ernest Walton, who conducted similar research in 1932 in a British laboratory developed by Rutherford. Trump's remarks drew condemnation from several New Zealand citizens and officials, including Nick Smith, the mayor of Rutherford's hometown of Nelson.
He emphasized that Rutherford's revolutionary "research on radio communication, radioactivity, the structure of the atom, and ultrasound technology" took place in the UK and Canada, not the US. Smith humorously suggested inviting the next US ambassador to Rutherford's birthplace to ensure historical accuracy is maintained. The US Department of Energy acknowledges Cockroft and Walton for splitting the atom while conceding Rutherford's foundational contributions. Among those who voiced their grievances after the comment: Ben Uffindell, editor of The Civilian, who humorously posted, "Okay, I've gotta call time. Trump just claimed America split the atom. That's THE ONE THING WE DID." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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