Explain Rutherford's atomic model experiment

Rutherford had a sheet of gold foil just a few atoms thick, and surrounded it with detectors. He then fired alpha particles at the gold sheet, knowing that these were positively charged. Some of these were deflected from their paths, a very small number were reflected, but most passed straight through the foil. This told Rutherford that most of the atom must be empty space. He explained the deflections and reflections with a concentration of charge in the middle of the space of each atom. As so few were reflected and deflected compared to those that went straight through, the charge must be tiny compared to the atom. As it was repelling the positive alpha particles, it must also be positive. This was the nucleus.

HM
Answered by Harry M. Physics tutor

6192 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

I do 400J of work compressing a gas, but I maintain the same temperature. What is the delta U, Q and W in this case?


A car is travelling at 20 m/s. The accelerator is applied, causing an acceleration of 2m/s^s. How fast is the car travelling after 10 seconds of acceleration?


Name the four fundamental forces.


Explain the advantages of a reflecting telescope compared to a refracting telescope


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning