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Why Rutherford fired alpha particles at gold

Why Rutherford fired alpha particles at gold

Rutherford scattering apparatus with alpha source, gold foil, surrounding zinc sulfide screen, and paths showing straight-through, small-angle, and backscattered alpha particles

At the start of the 20th century, Thomson's plum pudding model said that positive charge was spread out through the atom with electrons embedded in it. Rutherford, Geiger, and Marsden tested this idea by firing α\alphaα-particles at very thin gold foil and watching where they went.

Rutherford scattering (A-level only) Lesson

  1. A Level
  2. /Physics
  3. /Rutherford scattering (A-level only)

Step-by-step lessons on AQA A Level Physics Rutherford scattering (A-level only). Each one builds up to exam-style questions. Physics is one of the most mathematically demanding A Levels -- at least 40% of the marks require maths skills at Level 2 (GCSE) standard or above, so build calculation and graph-handling fluency alongside the conceptual content from the start.

Lessons