Question

What are the limitations of Rutherford's nuclear model?

• A. Electrons should undergoes spiral path and fall into nucleus
• B. Could not explain hydrogen spectrum
• C. Electron lose energy while in motion
• D. All of these

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

All of these

The major shortcoming of Rutherford's model was that it was incomplete. It did not explain how the atom's negatively charged electrons are distributed in the space surrounding its positively charged nucleus. According to the model electron’s speed will keep reducing as the electron keeps giving off energy by emitting EM waves and the radius of its rotation will keep decreasing and it will soon crash into the nucleus. If it crashed into the nucleus, atoms wouldn’t exist which does not happen. Also, it could not explain the Hydrogen spectrum.

Hence, above all are the shortcomings of Rutherford's model.