Rutherford's Experiment Model

Title:	Rutherford's Experiment Model

Pathway:	comPADRE http://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=31

Date Created:	February 09, 2011

URL:	http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/rutherford/index.html

Description:	A model of Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment allows the user to control the experiment and make observations within the online space.

Last Updated:	February 09, 2011

Date Added:	June 10, 2010

Added By:	Gerad Bandos

Included Files:	No files associated with this resource.

Comments and Feedback:	Repulsion, not collision Created December 29, 2010 at 01:57 by Mike Jones In reference to http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/rutherford/index.html "Collision" isn't really the best term to use, and gives the impression that the alpha particles made contact with the nucleus. In fact, Rutherford examined a "billiard-ball collision" model and rejected it in favor of an electrostatic repulsion model. The alpha particle is deflected as it approaches the nucleus due to electrostatic repulsion. The simulation doesn't really match the experimental setup used by Geiger and Marsden, which consisted of a source of collimated alpha particles, a metal target and a movable scintillation detector with a low power microscope to observe the pin-points of light produced by the collisions of alpha particles with the scintillation screen.