A science prototype: Rutherford and the atom.
Rutherford concluded that the deflections of the alpha particles were caused by a center of positive charge that contained most of the atom's mass (the nucleus). He also explained that the particles that went straight through the foil did so because the atom is mostly empty space and that the distance between electrons and the nucleus is vast compared to the size of the nucleus itself.
Rutherford’s discovery lead Bohr, who worked in Rutherford’s laboratory, to formulate his model of the atom. Important discoveries made since the pioneering work of Rutherford and Bohr include the discovery of the neutron by J. Chadwick, the discovery of the positron by C. Anderson, and the first scattering experiments using accelerated beams of protons by J. Cockcoft and E. Watson.
Ernest Rutherford was responsible for a many different discoveries such as radioactivity and nuclear physics. He discovered alpha and beta rays, found the laws of radioactive decay, and identified alpha particles as helium nuclei. Most important, he postulated the nuclear structure of the atom this structure was known as Rutherford model.
Essay Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment Rutherford started his scientific career with much success in local schools leading to a scholarship to Nelson College. After achieving more academic honors at Nelson College, Rutherford moved on to Cambridge University's Cavendish laboratory. There he was lead by his mentor J.J. Thomson convinced him to study radiation.
By this experiment it seemed clear to Rutherford that the alpha particle occasionally encountered such an intense field in the atom that it was turned back in its path as the result of a collision. When considering the mass and energy of an alpha particle this was an astonishing observation.
In 1909 Ernest Rutherford designed an experiment to test the plum pudding model. In the experiment, positively charged alpha particles. were fired at thin gold foil. Most alpha particles went.
Rutherford’s Gold Foil Experiment Rutherford started his scientific career with much success in local schools leading to a scholarship to Nelson College. After achieving more academic honors at Nelson College, Rutherford moved on to Cambridge University’s Cavendish laboratory. There he was lead by his mentor J.J. Thomson convinced.
