Describe Rutherford’s scattering experiment and discuss its findings and limitations.
Answers
Explanation:
*The alpha particles that were fired at the gold foil were positively charged. ... These experiments led Rutherford to describe the atom as containing mostly empty space, with a very small, dense, positively charged nucleus at the center, which contained most of the mass of the atom, with the electrons orbiting the nucleus.
*Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through the gold foil without getting deflected. Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the atom occupies very little space.
*Observations of Rutherford's Alpha Scattering Experiment
The observations made by Rutherford led him to conclude that: A major fraction of the α-particles bombarded towards the gold sheet passed through it without any deflection, and hence most of the space in an atom is empty.
*Limitations of Rutherford Atomic Model
Rutherford's experiment was unable to explain certain things. They are: Rutherford's model was unable to explain the stability of an atom. According to Rutherford's postulate, electrons revolve at a very high speed around a nucleus of an atom in a fixed orbit.
Answer:
Rutherford's experiment was unable to explain certain things. They are: Rutherford's model was unable to explain the stability of an atom. According to Rutherford's postulate, electrons revolve at a very high speed around a nucleus of an atom in a fixed orbit.