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What discovery was Rutherford trying to test and learn more about?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Chemists in the early 1900's were attempting to discern the structure of the atom. JJ Thompson had postulated with data from earlier experiments that the structure of the atom was a diffuse cloud of negative charge with particles of positive charge (the plum pudding model).
Rutherford's gold foil experiment proved this model to be incorrect. By setting up a source of alpha particles (helium atoms without electrons) to fire at the gold foil and a detector screen covering all angles around the gold foil, Rutherford found that alpha particles were scattered at far larger angles than would be expected if the model of the atom were diffuse clouds.
If JJ Thompson's model was correct, the only forces that would deflect the alpha particles would be the random chance that the negative charge would collect in such a way to effect the path of the massive alpha particle (which was postulated to be several thousand times more massive than the mass of the negatively charged cloud).
The results of the experiment were surprising to Rutherford. To paraphrase, he said it was almost as if he shot a cannonball at a piece of tissue paper and it rebounded back at him.
The results were that approximately 3% of the alpha particles were rebounded at angles larger than expected suggesting that while most of the alpha particles remained unaffected, a dense nucleus was most likely to cause the large angles of deflection.
In conclusion, Rutherford was trying to learn more about the structure of the atom and by chance stumbled upon a discovery that would change the model of the atom closer to a more modern interpretation.
If you are wondering why he chose this particular experiment without expecting these results, he could have been trying to measure the properties of the negative cloud as postulated by JJ Thompson.
Note. It is worth noting that the students deputed to carry out the experiments were Hans Geiger, and Ernest Marsden, both of whom went on to better things.
Ernie Marsden said that it was some time after he and Hans had observed the rebound (at angles which were not part of the instructions) that Rutherford became interested in the anomalous results.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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