In 1911, Ernest Rutherford and his assistants Geiger and Marsden conducted an experiment in which they scattered alpha particles (nuclei of helium atoms) from thin sheets of gold. An alpha particle, having charge +2e and mass 6.64 x 10-2 kg, is a product of certain radioactive decays.The results of the experiment led Rutherford to the idea that most of an atom's mass is in a very small nucleus, with electrons in orbit around it. Assume an alpha particle, initially very far from a stationary gold nucleus, is fired with a velocity of 1.41 x 107 m/s directly toward the nucleus(charge +79e). What is the smallest distance between the alpha particle and the nucleus before the alpha particle reverses direction? Assume the gold nucleus remains stationary.fm

mass of alpha particle (m) = 6.64×10-27 kg charge on alpha particle (q) = 2×1.6×10-19 C= 3.2×10-19…

Answered: In 1911, Ernest Rutherford and his…

College Physics

11th Edition

ISBN:9781305952300

Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille

Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille

Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors

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In 1911, Ernest Rutherford and his assistants Geiger and Marsden conducted an experiment in which they scattered alpha particles (nuclei of helium atoms) from thin sheets of gold. An alpha particle, having charge +2e and mass 6.64 x 10-2 kg, is a product of certain radioactive decays.
The results of the experiment led Rutherford to the idea that most of an atom's mass is in a very small nucleus, with electrons in orbit around it. Assume an alpha particle, initially very far from a stationary gold nucleus, is fired with a velocity of 1.41 x 107 m/s directly toward the nucleus
(charge +79e). What is the smallest distance between the alpha particle and the nucleus before the alpha particle reverses direction? Assume the gold nucleus remains stationary.
fm

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$mass of alpha particle (m) = 6.64 \times 10^{- 27} k g charge on alpha particle (q) = 2 \times 1.6 \times 10^{- 19} C = 3.2 \times 10^{- 19} C charge on gold nucleus = 79 e = 79 \times 1.6 \times 10^{- 19} C = 126.4 \times 10^{- 19} C Initial speed of alpha particle (v) = 1.41 \times 10^{7} \frac{m}{s}$

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