Rutherford scattering experiment is based on:  

Concept:

Rutherford scattering experiment:

• ​Rutherford conducted an experiment by bombarding a thin sheet of gold with α-particles.
• And then studied the trajectory of these particles after their interaction with the gold foil.

• The observations made by Rutherford led him to conclude that:​

A major fraction of the α-particles bombarded towards the gold sheet passed through the sheet without any deflection, and hence most of the space in an atom is empty.

• Some of the α-particles were deflected by the gold sheet by very small angles, and hence the positive charge in an atom is not uniformly distributed. The positive charge in an atom is concentrated in a very small volume.
• Very few of the α-particles were deflected back, that is only a few α-particles had nearly 180o angle of deflection. So the volume occupied by the positively charged particles in an atom is very small compared to the total volume of an atom.

• According to the Rutherford atomic model:

  • The positive charge and most of the mass of an atom are concentrated in an extremely small volume. He called this region of the atom is called the nucleus.
  • Rutherford’s model proposed that the negatively charged electrons surround the nucleus of an atom. He also claimed that the electrons surrounding the nucleus revolve around it at very high speed in circular paths. He named these circular paths orbits.
  • Electrons being negatively charged and nuclei being a densely concentrated mass of positively charged particles are held together by a strong electrostatic force of attraction.

Additional Information

•  Rutherford's experiment failed to explain certain things.
  • The Rutherford model was not in accordance with Maxwell’s theory and could not explain the stability of an atom.
  • One of the drawbacks of the Rutherford model was also that he did not say anything about the arrangement of electrons in an atom which made his theory incomplete.
  • Although the early atomic models were inaccurate and failed to explain certain experimental results, they formed the base for future developments in the world of quantum mechanics