Ernest Rutherford 1911
"Gold Foil" Experiment
Ernest Rutherford conducted an experiment called “gold foil” experiment. During this experiment, Rutherford aimed alpha particles at a solid substance (gold) and recorded the location of the alpha particles on a fluorescent screen as they passed through the gold foil. To his surprise, most of the alpha particles passed through the foil unaffected, but a small number of particles rebounded and deflected at an angle (almost coming straight back). Rutherford concluded that there is a small, dense, positively charged nucleus in the middle of an atom with negatively charged electrons surrounding it. |