Question

Describe Rutherford's contribution to the atomic model.

Answer 1

Answer:

Rutherford's experiment, also known as

$\alpha - scattering \: experiment$

supports the existence of neutrons and the nucleus.

Explanation:

In the above diagram, Rutherford was trying to explain his contributions using thin foils of gold and other metals as targets for alpha particles from a radioactive source.

He observed that the majority of particles penetrated the foil either undeflected or with only a slight deflection. But, every now and then an alpha particle was scattered(or deflected) at a large angle..

According to Rutherford, most of the atoms must be empty space. This explains why the majority of alpha particles passed through through the gold foil with little or no deflection. The atoms positive charges, Rutherford proposed are all concentrated in the Nucleus, which is a dense central core within the atom.

Whenever an alpha particle came close to a nucleus in the scattering experiment, it experienced a large repulsive force and therefore a large deflection. Moreover, an alpha particle coming towards a nucleus would be completely repelled and its direction would be reversed. The positively charged particles in the Nucleus are called Protons.

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