In 1911 Ernest Rutherford, Hans Geiger, and Ernest Marsden used flashes of light emitted by a zinc sulfide screen to study atomic size particles deflected by gold foil onto that screen. In short, their famous Gold Foil Experiment established that atomic nuclei were very tiny, about a thousand million millionth of an atom’s total volume. Although unable to see tiny atomic nuclei directly, Rutherford and company made an important discovery by examining the effects of the deflected nuclei off and through gold foil.
Isn’t that method the same one we use to detect the nucleus of someone’s personality? Tiny sparks in the surrounding layer of humanity reveal where we affect people both directly and indirectly. Something we do or say bounces off, is deflected by, or passes through another and strikes someone else who is not necessarily the direct target of our words or actions. That person then makes a judgment on the nature of our nuclei, the core of our being, of our character.
Each of us elicits unintended responses. We throw what we have at the target we know, the gold foil. The foil, now beyond our control, sends words or actions off in directions we could not predict. We hit a target we never intended to hit. When it happens with helpful words and actions, we do unintended good. When it happens with hurtful words and actions, we do unintended bad.
When you speak or act, know that either or both will somehow be deflected and terminate in a ZnS coating on nearby humanity. Someone will probably see the flash and estimate (or judge) the nature of the particle that caused it.
Isn’t that method the same one we use to detect the nucleus of someone’s personality? Tiny sparks in the surrounding layer of humanity reveal where we affect people both directly and indirectly. Something we do or say bounces off, is deflected by, or passes through another and strikes someone else who is not necessarily the direct target of our words or actions. That person then makes a judgment on the nature of our nuclei, the core of our being, of our character.
Each of us elicits unintended responses. We throw what we have at the target we know, the gold foil. The foil, now beyond our control, sends words or actions off in directions we could not predict. We hit a target we never intended to hit. When it happens with helpful words and actions, we do unintended good. When it happens with hurtful words and actions, we do unintended bad.
When you speak or act, know that either or both will somehow be deflected and terminate in a ZnS coating on nearby humanity. Someone will probably see the flash and estimate (or judge) the nature of the particle that caused it.
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