Question

In 1899, Ernest Rutherford studied the absorption of radioactivity by thin sheets of metal foil and found two components:

• A. alpha radiation and beta radiation
• B. gamma radiation and beta radiation
• C. alpha radiation and gamma radiation
• D. none of the above

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

alpha radiation and beta radiation

In 1899 Ernest Rutherford studied the absorption of radioactivity by thin sheets of metal foil and found two components: alpha radiation, which is absorbed by a few thousandths of a centimeter of metal foil, and beta radiation, which can pass through 100 times as much foil before it was absorbed.
Shortly thereafter, a third form of radiation, named gamma rays, was discovered that can penetrate a much as several centimeters of lead.