Rutherford expected the alpha particles to go right through the gold foil...I thought that the model of the atom at the time was a solid sphere so wouldn't he have expected them to bounce off? Did he shoot beta particles before alpha particles and they went through? I know his conclusion was that atoms are mostly empty space with a dense central positive core.
2006-10-14 13:22:07 · 1 answers · asked by The Cheminator 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Not solid, but analogous to " plum pudding " dotted with negative " raisins ". He expected, according to the Thomas model. that the alpha particles would go right through the " pudding ", with only minor deflection from the " raisins ". His surprise was that some bounced straight back at the alpha emitter, " it was as if I fired a 15 inch gun at a piece of tissue paper and the round bounced right back at me ". That is how he came to the conclusion you have all ready stated.
2006-10-14 14:55:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋