Question

Suppose Rutherford's lab was 10 meters (m) long and the speed of an alpha particle is 3.0x10^8 meters per second (m/s). How much time would he plan on the alpha particles taking to move from the alpha particle source to the gold foil target? Write it in a mathematical equation

Answer 1

Answer:

t = d/v , 33.3 ns

Explanation:

Since distance, d = vt where v = speed and t = time taken to cover the distance.

Since the distance, d covered by the alpha particle is the length of Rutherford's lab which is 10 m long and the speed of the alpha particle is v = 3 × 10⁸ m/s, the time, t it takes the alpha particle to move from the alpha particle source to the gold foil target is thus

t = d/v

= 10 m/3 × 10⁸ m/s

= 10/3 × 10⁻⁸ s

= 3.33 × 10⁻⁸ s

= 33.3 × 10⁻⁹ s

= 33.3 ns