Answer
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Work Step by Step
Ernest Rutherford conducted a gold foil experiment in 1909 that had a significant impact on our understanding of atomic structure.
Thomson's model depicted atoms as having a uniform distribution of positive charge with embedded electrons, like seeds in a watermelon.
According to this model, alpha particles, which are positively charged, were expected to pass through the gold foil with minimal deflection.
However, Rutherford's experiment involved bombarding a thin gold foil with alpha particles and observing their scattering patterns.
Rutherford observed that a small fraction of alpha particles were scattered at very large angles, and a few even bounced straight back.
These unexpected observations led Rutherford to propose a new model of the atom, known as the nuclear model.
The reason alpha particles were scattered at large angles is due to their close encounters with highly charged and massive particles.
So he interpreted the significant deflection of alpha particles as evidence of a concentrated positive charge at the center of the atom, which he called the "nucleus." He suggested that the nucleus contained most of the atom's mass and positive charge, while negatively charged electrons orbited around it, much like planets orbiting the sun.
