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While most alpha particles passed straight through the foil. A small % of them were deflected at very large angles, some even backscattered. Because alpha particles have about 8000x the mass of an electron and impacted the foil at very high velocitiesIn order for the alpha particles to be deflected by significant amounts, they must pass close to one or more nuclei in the foil. Since nuclei occupy only a very small fraction of the the volume of an atom, and the foil was very thin so it was not very many atoms thick, the likelihood of such close encounters was small and only a small fraction of the alpha particles were deflected by large angles.
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What happened to the alpha particles as they hit the gold foil?

They stop.


What is the explanation for the scattering experiment of Rutherford?

Rutherford conducted an experiment in which Alpha particles were fired at a gold nucleus. Most of the particles passed through unaffected. However, some were deflected by a small amount whilst an even smaller number of the particles were deflected completely. This led to the conclusion that the atom has an extremely small, central, positively charged nucleus. As both the positive alpha particle and the positive nucleus repel each other by electrostatic forces. The fact that only a small amount of particles are deflected shows that the nucleus is only a tiny central part of the atom.


Why did most of the alpha particles pass through the gold foil?

Most of the alpha particles passed through the gold foil because atoms are mostly empty space, and the alpha particle is small enough to pass through without colliding with the dense nucleus. This led to the discovery of the nucleus, as a few alpha particles were deflected or bounced back, indicating a dense, positively charged center in the atom.


Who is Rutherford and the gold foil experiment?

Rutherford was a scientist who shot alpha particles through a very thin sheet of gold foil. The results of this experiment are the following: -Almost all alpha particles passed right through the Gold foil -A few alpha particlas were deflected and repelled .....These conclusions show that the majority of the atom of gold is empty space except for a small, positively charged nucleus. This nucleus is the reason why some alpha particlas were deflected(Alpha particles have a positive charge, which is repelled by a positive nucleus).


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.

Related Questions

Why were few alpha particles deflected?

some of alpha particles were deflected through an angle of 90 degree


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

They stop.


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.


In rutherfords gold foil experiment he concluded that the atom is mostly empty space with a small massive positively chargeed centrer because?

When the beam of electrons passed through the gold foil, some were deflected at odd angles. This indicated the presence of a more massive portion of the atom that could be explained by the raisin pudding model.


How is the Rutherford Experiment Done?

To do the Rutherford Experiment, you have to shoot alpha particles at gold foil to and see where the particles pass through and where they do not. This will give you a general idea of what Rutherford did to discover the nucleus of an atom. However, alpha particles are very hard to come upon, as they are the nucleus of Carbon. Rutherford knew that alpha particles are about 7000 times more massive than electrons and are positively charged and the charge is twice the magnitude of the charge of electrons.when Rutherford directed a beam of alpha particles at a thin gold foil,he found that almost all particles passed through it without deflecting.A very small were deflected at an angle, however, and a few actually bounded back toward the particle source.


How was it shown that atomic nuclei are positively charged?

when Rutherford did his experiment he got a observation that very few alpha particles (helium ions ) got deflected from their mean position . This indicates that there is very tiny positively charged particle or object is present . This led to the result that Nucleus is positively charged .


What is the explanation for the scattering experiment of Rutherford?

Rutherford conducted an experiment in which Alpha particles were fired at a gold nucleus. Most of the particles passed through unaffected. However, some were deflected by a small amount whilst an even smaller number of the particles were deflected completely. This led to the conclusion that the atom has an extremely small, central, positively charged nucleus. As both the positive alpha particle and the positive nucleus repel each other by electrostatic forces. The fact that only a small amount of particles are deflected shows that the nucleus is only a tiny central part of the atom.


Why did most of the alpha particles pass through the gold foil?

Most of the alpha particles passed through the gold foil because atoms are mostly empty space, and the alpha particle is small enough to pass through without colliding with the dense nucleus. This led to the discovery of the nucleus, as a few alpha particles were deflected or bounced back, indicating a dense, positively charged center in the atom.


Who is Rutherford and the gold foil experiment?

Rutherford was a scientist who shot alpha particles through a very thin sheet of gold foil. The results of this experiment are the following: -Almost all alpha particles passed right through the Gold foil -A few alpha particlas were deflected and repelled .....These conclusions show that the majority of the atom of gold is empty space except for a small, positively charged nucleus. This nucleus is the reason why some alpha particlas were deflected(Alpha particles have a positive charge, which is repelled by a positive nucleus).


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.


Why does alpha pass through some materials and not others?

Alpha particles can pass through very few materials. The spacing between nuclei of the material would have to be enormous for an alpha particle to pass through. The passage of alpha particles simply depends on the density of the material.


Which observations helped Rutherford determine that atoms have tiny dense positively charged nuclei?

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.