Rutherford performed an experiment using alpha particle and gold foil. Rutherford’s conducted an experiment by bombarding a thin sheet of gold with α-particles and then studied the trajectory of these particles after their interaction with the gold foil. Rutherford made certain observations that contradicted Thomson’s atomic model.
The conclusion from Rutherford experiment
From his experiment, he came to the following conclusions:
- Most of the space in an atom is empty.
- The space occupied by the positive charges is very small.
- The positive charges and mass of the atom were concentrated in a very small volume within an atom.
Drawbacks of Rutherford atomic model
Drawbacks of the Rutherford atomic model were
- He could not explain the stability of an atom
- As per Rutherford’s model, electrons revolve around the nucleus in a circular path. But particles that are in motion on a circular path would undergo acceleration, and acceleration causes radiation of energy by charged particles. Eventually, electrons should lose energy and fall into the nucleus.
