Question

In what way is Rutherford’s atomic model different from that of Thomson’s atomic model?

Answer 1

The Rutherford atomic model:

• Rutherford's gold foil tests revealed that all positive charge is concentrated in a very small region ten times the radius of an atom.
• As a result, Rutherford proposed a scenario in which electrons revolve around the nucleus.
• He discovered that the nucleus is quite tiny in comparison to the size of the atom.
• Rutherford's atomic model fails to explain the atom's stability.

The Thomson atomic model:

• Because the magnitudes of the negative and positive charges are equal, an atom as a whole is electrically neutral.
• J. J. Thomson proposed that electrons are immersed in a positively charged sphere.
• Thomson's atomic model fails to explain Rutherford's -particle scattering experiment.
• Thomson’s model of the atom fails to explain Rutherford’s αlpha-particle scattering experiment in which most of the fast-moving αlpha-particles passed straight through the gold foil.