Question

What do you think would be the observation if the alpha-particle scattering experiment is car­ried out using a foil of a metal other than gold?

Answer 1

Rutherford's experiment:

1. Rutherford bombarded a thin sheet of gold foil having thickness of $100\mathrm{nm}$ or ${10}^{-5}\mathrm{cm}$ with alpha particles in an evacuated chamber.
2. He observed that:
   1. Most of the alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil without any deflection from their path.
   2. Some alpha particles got deflected at small and large angles.
   3. A very few alpha particles bounced back on hitting the gold foil.

Using other metal foil:

1. If Rutherford carried alpha-particle scattering experiment using a foil of a metal other than gold, there would have been no change observed.
2. This is because the basic structure of an atom remains the same irrespective of the material.
3. Thus, gold or any other metal would give same results for Rutherford's alpha-particle scattering experiment.