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The beam did not pass through the gold foil completely because the gold atoms are densely packed and contain a nucleus that is positively charged. When the beam, typically consisting of alpha particles, encounters the dense nuclei of the gold atoms, it experiences repulsion or scattering due to the electromagnetic forces between the positively charged alpha particles and the gold nuclei. This interaction causes most of the particles to either be deflected or absorbed, preventing them from passing straight through the foil.

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4d ago

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If Rutherford made bombarded aluminum foil with alpha particles instead of gold foil what observations would he have used?

The scattering angles would have changed, but the qualitative results would also change: the reason Rutherford chose gold was because it is EXTREMELY malleable. One can stretch gold foil until it is only a few atoms thick in places, which is not possible with aluminum. If the foil were too thick, there would be no transmission of particles at all; the whole point was to demonstrate that most alpha particles passed through unchanged, but some of them scattered, which is only possible with a VERY thin foil.


How did the gold foil experiment prove an atom was mostly empty space?

In the gold foil experiment by Rutherford, most alpha particles passed through the gold foil, indicating that atoms are mostly empty space. The few particles that were deflected showed that the positive charge of the atom is concentrated in a small, dense nucleus, which explains why most of the particles passed through without being deflected.


What material did Rutherford use in his famous experiment?

Rutherford's experimenters were Hans Geiger, and Ernest Marsden, both of whom went on to have worthwhile science careers. The metal foil used in the Rutherford experiments was gold, for this foil amy be made extremely thin by careful beating, whilst still being imperforate.


Why is Rutherford's experiment called the gold foil experiment?

In the experiment, Rutherford found the nucleus using gold foil.because he used a thin sheet of gold foil.Because he used a gold foil (the only metal that can be hammered into a 1 atom thick foil without tearing) in an attempt to scatter alpha particles.The unexpected result that instead of all of the alpha particles scattering through small forward angles, a few bounced almost directly back to the source. This made the Thompson "plum pudding" model of the atom unworkable and suggested that each atom had a tiny "infinitely hard" kernel somewhere inside it. Rutherford named this kernel the nucleus.


What would have happend in the gold foil experiment if daltons theory had been correct?

If Dalton's theory had been correct in the gold foil experiment, all the alpha particles would have passed straight through the gold foil with little to no deflection. Dalton's theory proposed that atoms were indivisible and uniform in structure, so there would have been no interactions with the densely packed positive nucleus within the gold atoms.

Related Questions

How did Rutherfords work help form the presentday model of the atom?

His experiment with the gold foil and the beam of positively charged particles proved that the nucleus of the atom is not solid. The beam past through the foil and bounced back. Rutherford's experiment contradicted Thomson's theory that an atom is solid.


Where did most of the alpha particles fired at the foil go in the gold foil experiment?

Most of them went right through.


What did Rutherford observed that surprise him?

Most of the alpha particles shot at the gold foil went straight through the foil.


Rutherford theorized that atoms have a dense positive center or nucleus How the evidence for this conclusion illustrated in the animated gold-foil experiment?

In Rutherford's gold-foil experiment, a narrow beam of alpha particles was aimed at a thin sheet of gold foil. Most alpha particles passed through the foil without deflection, but some were deflected at large angles or even reflected back, indicating a concentrated positive charge at the center of the atom. This observation led Rutherford to conclude that atoms have a dense positive center or nucleus.


Would particles pass straight through gold foil?

No, most particles would not pass straight through gold foil. Gold is a dense material that effectively blocks or deflects particles like alpha particles due to its high atomic number and density. This property is the basis for Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment which led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus.


Did most of the partricles go through the gold foil in Rutherford's experiment?

Yes


What experiment convinced ernest ratherford that the atom has a smallpositively charged nucleus?

The Rutherford gold foil experiment convinced Ernest Rutherford that atoms have a small positively charged nucleus. In this experiment, a beam of alpha particles was directed at a thin gold foil. Most of the alpha particles passed through the foil, but some were deflected at large angles, showing that the positive charge of the atom is concentrated in a small region (the nucleus) within the atom.


In Rutherford's gold foil experiment what particles were fired at a thin piece of gold?

I believe they are called the Alpha particles and yes, they did pass through a sheet of gold foil.


What is the purpose of Earnest Rutherfords gold-foil experiment?

to find out if all element has the same mass or can pass through the tin foil in other words not all passed through


Who discovered the nucleus using his gold foil experiment?

Ernest Rutherford is the scientist who discovered the nucleus through his gold foil experiment in 1909. He observed that most of the alpha particles passed through the foil, but some were deflected, leading him to propose the existence of a dense, positively charged nucleus at the center of an atom.


Which particle was discovered during the gold foil experiment?

The discovery of the atomic nucleus was made during the gold foil experiment by Ernest Rutherford in 1909. He observed that most of the alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil, indicating that atoms have a small, dense nucleus at their center.


The kind of particle Rutherford used to shoot through gold foil?

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.