Hi
I believe the answer to be because of its high density. Gold or Aurum (Au) is very dense and hence will 'reflect'and 'deflect' alpha particles, which are helium nuclei. Beta particles are electrons
Hope that helps
Alpha particles are composed of two neutrons and two protons, so they have a positive charge. When the alpha particles bounced straight back from the gold foil, this indicated that they had hit a particle of like charge, in other words a positively charged particle in the gold foil, which repelled the alpha particle.
In the gold foil experiment, only a small amount of the alpha particles are scattered; but those scatter at a large angle. This shows that most of the mass is concentrated in a small space.
Hope you mean the famous alpha particle scattering experiment performed. Alpha particle being positively charged get reflected. This confirms that there have to be positively charged particles within the gold foil. Moreover this scattering is very less compared to those just passing through gold foil. Rutherford as he made an observation of these he came to the conclusion that the positively charged core is so tiny and its radius of the order of 10-14 m. The radius of the atom was already found to be 10-11 m. So it becomes clear that the nucleus is 1000 times smaller than the atomic size
Rutherford shot high-energy alpha particles (two protons and two neutrons, or a helium nucleus) at the gold foil. A small fraction of these alpha particles bounced back, and that is how Rutherford discovered the nucleus.
E. Rutherford, H. Geiger and E. Marsden discovered that all atoms have a positive charged nucleus. The electrons orbits this nucleus. Rutherford's experiment established what an atom looks like. When Rutherford sent alpha particles toward the gold foil, some passed while others bounced back. He collected the data and made a model of the atom. The only reason why some rays went through while others bounced back because of the composition of the atom in the gold foil.
Alpha particles are composed of two neutrons and two protons, so they have a positive charge. When the alpha particles bounced straight back from the gold foil, this indicated that they had hit a particle of like charge, in other words a positively charged particle in the gold foil, which repelled the alpha particle.
In the gold foil experiment, only a small amount of the alpha particles are scattered; but those scatter at a large angle. This shows that most of the mass is concentrated in a small space.
A zinc sulfide coated screen surrounding the gold foil produced a flash of light whenever it was struck by an alpha particle. By noting where the flash occurred, the scientists could determine if the atoms in the gold foil deflected the alpha particles.
Hope you mean the famous alpha particle scattering experiment performed. Alpha particle being positively charged get reflected. This confirms that there have to be positively charged particles within the gold foil. Moreover this scattering is very less compared to those just passing through gold foil. Rutherford as he made an observation of these he came to the conclusion that the positively charged core is so tiny and its radius of the order of 10-14 m. The radius of the atom was already found to be 10-11 m. So it becomes clear that the nucleus is 1000 times smaller than the atomic size
The alpha particles scatter from the atomic nuclei in the gold foil. The repulsive electrostatic force between the nucleus and the alpha particle (because both are positively charged and like charges repel) deflects the alpha particle. Because of the large mass and (relatively) large energy of the alpha particles in Rutherford scattering experiments, the alpha particles are largely unaffected by the electrons in the gold atoms. More accurately, the scattering of the alpha particles from the electrons produces small angular deflections.Because the nucleus is small -- approximately 1/10000th the size of the whole atom -- most of the time the alpha particles will pass through the atom with little or no deflection. But occasionally, the alpha particles will start on a trajectory that, without the electrostatic deflection, would take them very close to the nucleus. In such cases, the electrostatic force produces a large angular deflection and can even scatter the alpha particles backwards. If the positive charge in the atom were distributed over the entire size of the atom, the likelihood of having such a large-angle scattering would be much smaller than it was (is) observed to be. Thus, the original experiments demonstrated that the positive charge in atoms is confined to a small region at the very center of an atom. Indeed, the data also provided an estimate of the size of the nucleus. More advanced analyses of such scattering experiments with modern equipment but using electron beams have provided detailed measurements of nuclear diameters for a wide range of atomic nuclei.
Alpha particle ie doubly ionized helium atom scattering by the gold foil experiment formed the basis for the discovery of nucleus. The experiment was done by Marsden and Geiger but the experimental observation was commented and final conclusion derived by Rutherford.
The scattering of alpha particles by a metal foil.
Because the alpha particles are positively charged. In order for the experiment to work, the positive alpha particles must be attracted to the negatively charged gold foil.
The Rutherford gold foil experiment is also known as the Geiger-Marsden experiments. In them, alpha particle scattering was measured, and showed how a large focus was found in such a way as to describe atoms having a dense nucleus. This experiment is not used for much today in any field other than focused particle physics, wherein it is the basis of most other calculations involving how atoms work.
A+ answer: A few of the alpha particles in his expeirment were deflected from the gold foil at large angles. Scattering pattern of alpha particles 'shot' at a thin gold foil. Most went straight thru showing the nucleus was very small. Analysis of the scattering showed electrical repulsion, not that the particles actually hit the nucleus and bounced off.
Rutherford shot high-energy alpha particles (two protons and two neutrons, or a helium nucleus) at the gold foil. A small fraction of these alpha particles bounced back, and that is how Rutherford discovered the nucleus.
E. Rutherford, H. Geiger and E. Marsden discovered that all atoms have a positive charged nucleus. The electrons orbits this nucleus. Rutherford's experiment established what an atom looks like. When Rutherford sent alpha particles toward the gold foil, some passed while others bounced back. He collected the data and made a model of the atom. The only reason why some rays went through while others bounced back because of the composition of the atom in the gold foil.