PHYS 2004 Lecture 12: one class PHY2004
16 Nov 2017
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Tho(cid:373)so(cid:374)"s raisi(cid:374)-cake model of the atom could explain the small deflections, but it could not explain the large angle deflections. The discovery of large-a(cid:374)gle s(cid:272)atteri(cid:374)g of alpha parti(cid:272)les led to rutherford"s nuclear model of an atom in which negative electrons orbit an unbelievably small, massive, positive nucleus. Rutherford envisioned an atom in which negative electrons orbit an unbelievably small, massive, positive nucleus, rather like a miniature solar system. He esti(cid:373)ated the dia(cid:373)eter of the (cid:374)u(cid:272)leus to (cid:271)e (cid:1005)(cid:1004) 14 m, while the diameter of the electron or(cid:271)its is (cid:1005)(cid:1004) 10 m, about 10,000 times bigger. Nearly all of the atom is empty space the void! Scientists at the time could not imagine matter having the extraordinarily high density implied by a small nucleus.
