Who discovered proton?

The discovery of the proton is credited to Ernest Rutherford, who proved that the nucleus of the hydrogen atom (i.e. a proton) is present in the nuclei of all other atoms in the year 1917.

• Ernest Rutherford observed that his scintillation detectors detected hydrogen nuclei when a beam of alpha particles was shot into the air.
• After investigating further, Rutherford found that these hydrogen nuclei were produced from the nitrogen atoms present in the atmosphere.
• He then proceeded to fire beams of alpha particles into pure nitrogen gas and observed that a greater number of hydrogen nuclei were produced.
• He concluded that the hydrogen nuclei originated from the nitrogen atom, proving that the hydrogen nucleus was a part of all other atoms.
• This experiment was the first to report a nuclear reaction, given by the equation: ¹⁴N + α → ¹⁷O + p [Where α is an alpha particle which contains two protons and two neutrons, and ‘p’ is a proton]
• The hydrogen nucleus was later named ‘proton’ and recognized as one of the building blocks of the atomic nucleus.