Scattering

Abstract

The use of scattering to determine the nature of atomic level phenomena began with Rutherford's experiments to determine the nature of the atom. His experiment used alpha particles, now known as helium nuclei, generated by radium decay. These were aimed at a thin foil of gold around one hundred atoms thick. Most of the alpha particles passed through the foil with only a small to imperceptible deviation, but occasionally one collided with an object and underwent a dramatic deviation in direction. From the rate of collisions and the angles of deflection, Rutherford was able to infer the size of the gold nucleus, revealing that it was extremely compact and dense, while the rest of the atom created little to no impediment to the alpha particles. This experiment supported the Keplerian model of the atom as a cloud of light electrons surrounding a dense positive nucleus, helping to launch modern quantum mechanics.

Cite this paper

@incollection{swanson2023scattering,
  title = {{Scattering}},
  author = {Swanson, Mark S},
  pages = {9--1},
  year = {2023},
  doi = {10.1088/978-0-7503-5663-3ch9}
}

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