Reference: Rutherford's Model of An Atom


Reference
Objective:
To demonstrate the scattering of alpha particles by gold foil.
Background:
Model for the structure of an atom had been first proposed by J.J. Thomson. Later, followed many
theories however, Rutherford's model was finally accepted as the correct nuclear model. Rutherford had
shown his model with help of an experiment.
Rutherford's scattering experiment:
Rutherford's model of an atom :
Ernest Rutherford was interested in knowing how the electrons are arranged within an atom. Rutherford
designed an experiment for this. In this experiment, fast moving alpha (α)-particles were made to fall on
a thin gold foil.
 He selected a gold foil because he wanted as thin a layer as possible. This gold foil was about
1000 atoms thick.
 α-particles are doubly-charged helium ions. Since they have a mass of 4µ, the fast-moving α-
particles have a considerable amount of energy.
It was expected that α-particles would be deflected by the sub-atomic particles in the gold atoms. Since
the α-particles were much heavier than the protons, he did not expect to see large deflections. But, the
α-particle scattering experiment gave totally unexpected results.
Observations of Rutherford's scattering experiment:
As we can see in Fig. 1.
1. Most of the fast moving α-particles passed straight through the gold foil.
2. Some of the α-particles were deflected by the foil by small angles.
3. Surprisingly one out of every 12,000 alpha particles appeared to rebound.

Fig. (1)
Conclusion of Rutherford's scattering experiment:
1. Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through the
gold foil without getting deflected.
2. Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the
atom occupies very little space.
3. A very small fraction of α-particles were deflected by very large angles, indicating that all the
positive charge and mass of the gold atom were concentrated in a very small volume within the
atom.
From the data he also calculated that the radius of the nucleus is about 105 times less than the radius of
the atom.
Rutherford's Nuclear Model Of Atom
On the basis of his experiment, Rutherford put forward the model of an atom, which had the
following features:
1. There is a positively charged centre in an atom called the nucleus. Nearly all the mass of an
atom resides in the nucleus.
2. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in well-defined orbits.
3. The size of the nucleus is very small as compared to the size of the atom.
Rutherford's alpha particle scattering experiment shows the presence of nucleus in the atom.
It also gives the following important information about the nucleus of an at

1. Nucleus of an atom is positively charged.
2. Nucleus of an atom is very dense and hard.
3. Nucleus of an atom is very small as compared to the size of the atom as a whole.
Observations of Rutherford’s Alpha Scattering Experiment
The observations made by Rutherford led him to conclude that:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 as compared to the total volume of an atom.
Rutherford Atomic Model
Based on the above observations and conclusions, Rutherford proposed the atomic structure of
elements. According to the Rutherford atomic model:
1. The positively charged particles and most of the mass of an atom was concentrated in an
extremely small volume. He called this region of the atom as a nucleus.
2. Rutherford 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 with very
high speed in circular paths. He named these circular paths as orbits.
3. Electrons being negatively charged and nucleus being a densely concentrated mass of positively
charged particles are held together by a strong electrostatic force of attraction.
John Dalton, a British school teacher, published his theory about atoms in 1808. His findings were
based on experiments and the laws of chemical combination.
Postulates
1. All matter consists of indivisible particles called atoms.
2. Atoms of the same element are similar in shape and mass, but differ from the atoms of other
elements.
3. Atoms cannot be created or destroyed.

4. Atoms of different elements may combine with each other in a fixed, simple, whole number
ratios to form compound atoms.
5. Atoms of same element can combine in more than one ratio to form two or more compounds.
6. The atom is the smallest unit of matter that can take part in a chemical reaction.
Drawbacks of Dalton's Atomic Theory
 The indivisibility of an atom was proved wrong: an atom can be further subdivided into protons,
neutrons and electrons. However an atom is the smallest particle that takes part in chemical
reactions.
 According to Dalton, the atoms of same element are similar in all respects. However, atoms of
some elements vary in their masses and densities. These atoms of different masses are called
isotopes. For example, chlorine has two isotopes with mass numbers 35 and 37.
 Dalton also claimed that atoms of different elements are different in all respects. This has been
proven wrong in certain cases: argon and calcium atoms each have an atomic mass of 40 amu.
These atoms are known as isobars.
 According to Dalton, atoms of different elements combine in simple whole number ratios to
form compounds. This is not observed in complex organic compounds like sugar (C12H22O11).
 The theory fails to explain the existence of allotropes; it does not account for differences in
properties of charcoal, graphite, diamond.

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

To demonstrate the scattering of alpha particles by gold foil.

Rutherford's scattering experiment:

Rutherford's model of an atom :

Observations of Rutherford's scattering experiment:

As we can see in Fig. 1.

2. Some of the α-particles were deflected by the foil by small angles.

3. Surprisingly one out of every 12,000 alpha particles appeared to rebound.

Conclusion of Rutherford's scattering experiment:

Rutherford's Nuclear Model Of Atom

2. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in well-defined orbits.

It also gives the following important information about the nucleus of an at

2. Nucleus of an atom is very dense and hard.

Observations of Rutherford’s Alpha Scattering Experiment

The observations made by Rutherford led him to conclude that:

Rutherford Atomic Model

1. All matter consists of indivisible particles called atoms.

3. Atoms cannot be created or destroyed.

Drawbacks of Dalton's Atomic Theory

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