answersLogoWhite

0

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.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Physics

In Rutherfords gold foil experiment shown in Figure 4-1 alpha particles that bounce straight back from the foil have struck in the gold atoms?

No, they struck the nucleus of the atom. Since the alpha particles are positively charged and nucleus is positively charged as well, they repelled each other and alpha particles are repelled back


Is it true or false beta particle will penetrate deeper into materials than an alpha particle?

False. Alpha particles have a larger mass and charge compared to beta particles, which causes them to interact more strongly with materials. As a result, alpha particles penetrate less deeply into materials compared to beta particles.


Why the alpha particles pass through the foil unaffected?

Alpha particles have high energy but relatively low charge density, so they interact weakly with the electrons in the atoms of the foil. Additionally, the majority of an atom is empty space, so most alpha particles pass through the foil without colliding with the nucleus. Only a few alpha particles are deflected or bounce back due to a direct hit on the positively charged nucleus of an atom in the foil.


What happened to the alpha particles as they hit the gold foil?

They stop.


How did Rutherford know an atom was mostly empty pace?

Rutherford discovered that atoms are mostly empty space through his famous gold foil experiment. He observed that most of the alpha particles passed straight through the foil, indicating that atoms had a lot of empty space. The few particles that were deflected showed that the positive charge in an atom is concentrated in a small nucleus at the center.

Related Questions

In Rutherfords gold foil experiment particles in dense atomic nuclei caused some alpha particles to bounce straight back from the gold foil.?

positive


What did Rutherford say about the small number of particles that bounced straight back?

Rutherford fired alpha particles at a sheet of atoms in order to determine the atomic structure. The alpha particle is positively charged. Those particles that bounce straight back are the ones that hit the nucleus of the atom and were repelled by the nucleus's positive charge.


In Rutherfords gold foil experiment shown in Figure 4-1 alpha particles that bounce straight back from the foil have struck in the gold atoms?

No, they struck the nucleus of the atom. Since the alpha particles are positively charged and nucleus is positively charged as well, they repelled each other and alpha particles are repelled back


When Rutherford performed his metal foil experiment did the alpha particles pass straight through the foil or bounce back?

In Rutherford's metal foil experiment, some alpha particles passed straight through the foil, while others were deflected at various angles. A small fraction of the alpha particles even bounced back towards the source. This led Rutherford to conclude that atoms have a small, dense nucleus at their center.


What part of the atoms caused the particles to bounce?

The heavy, dense nucleus of the atom caused the alpha particles to bounce back in Rutherford's experiment.


What part of a atom causes particles to bounce back?

The positively charged nucleus of the atom, which contains protons and neutrons, is what causes particles to bounce back due to electrostatic repulsion. When an incoming particle has the same charge as the nucleus, such as another positively charged particle, they will repel each other, causing the incoming particle to bounce back.


In Rutherford's gold foil experiment particles in dense atomic nuclei caused some alpha particles to bounce straight back from the gold foil.?

positive


In Rutherford's gold experiment particles in dense atomic nuclei caused some alpha particles to bounce straight back from the gold foil?

Yes, in Rutherford's gold foil experiment, he observed that some alpha particles were deflected at very large angles and even bounced straight back, indicating that they were hitting something small and dense (the atomic nucleus) within the gold foil. This observation led to the development of the nuclear model of the atom.


What will happen if you use beta particles on gold foil?

If the alpha particles hit the gold foil most of the alpha particles will pass through the gold foil because atoms mostly consists of empty space and some alpha particles will be deflected including a very small number of alpha particles will bounce back in the direction they came from because the atom has a very small positively charged mass called the nucleus.


Is it true or false beta particle will penetrate deeper into materials than an alpha particle?

False. Alpha particles have a larger mass and charge compared to beta particles, which causes them to interact more strongly with materials. As a result, alpha particles penetrate less deeply into materials compared to beta particles.


What did Rutherford observed that surprise him?

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


How did Rutherford infer that the nucleus was very small?

In conclusion... Rutherford's experiment involved a radioactive source emitting alpha particles (2 protons and 2 neutrons). The radioactive source was aimed at a thin sheet of gold. The main observation made was that a few alpha particles were repelled back the way they had come, and this was not expected. This was because the positively charged alpha particles (2 protons), by the laws of electrostatic repulsion, were repelled by the positively charged nucleus of the atoms in the gold. He then made the final conclusion of that the small nucleus of an atom is central, has a large mass and positive charge. So yes, the nucleus is small compared to the size of an atom, however it was mainly the fact that there is one concentration of positive charge (nucleus) in the atom that repelled the alpha particles that helped Rutherford to show the structure of an atom.