Rutherford's Gold Foil experiment DOUBT

Ask questions about projects relating to: aerodynamics or hydrodynamics, astronomy, chemistry, electricity, electronics, physics, or engineering

Moderators: kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators

Locked
08251
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2021 11:07 pm
Occupation: Student

Rutherford's Gold Foil experiment DOUBT

Post by 08251 »

QUESTION-

Why did Rutherford think the atom empty? It could be possible that the alpha particles went through the weak field of the positively charged particles due to the heavy mass and fast speed.. So we could conclude that the atom is having dense accumulation of positively charged particles at the centre, and weak around it.. Also How did Rutherford know where the electrons could be present, as the electrons don't affect the alpha particles due to their extremely light masses, so the scattering of the alpha particles doesn't depend on the electrons..?

I hope the question would be answered.
Thank You
ctactawong
Expert
Posts: 26
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:56 am
Occupation: Other Adult

Re: Rutherford's Gold Foil experiment DOUBT

Post by ctactawong »

Hello,

He said the piece of gold foil is mostly empty from the perspective of heavy alpha particles. If lighter particles like electrons or photons are used instead, the gold foil would not appear empty.

Your description can equally be correct. In fact the electrons have to be somewhere inside the atoms although we can say nothing about their spatial arrangement from Rutherford's experiment. The most important conclusion he drew was majority of mass of an atom is concentrated in a small space, hence the birth of the concept nucleus.
Locked

Return to “Grades 9-12: Physical Science”