Question

A tiny positively charged particle is moving head-on towards a heavy nucleus. The distance of closest approach depends upon,

• A. The number of protons in the nucleus.
• B. The number of nucleons in the nucleus.
• C. The mass of the incident particle.
• D. The charge and velocity of the incident particle.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (C), (D)

The correct options are
A The number of protons in the nucleus.
C The mass of the incident particle.
D The charge and velocity of the incident particle.

The distance of closest approach is given by, \(r_0 = \frac{1}{2 \pi \epsilon_0qZe}{mv^2}\)
q, m and v are charge, mass and velocity of incident particle and Z is the atomic number of the target nucleus.