Geiger and Marsden experiment. How did they create a vacuum?

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SUMMARY

The Geiger and Marsden experiment utilized a standard vacuum pump to create a vacuum for alpha particles during the Rutherford scattering experiment. This technology, developed in 1650, was sufficient for their needs. Rutherford, upon discovering the alpha particle, did not initially know it had a +2e charge. He employed a mass spectrometer to determine the charge-to-mass ratio, which was measured at 0.5e/amu, leading him to hypothesize that alpha particles were helium nuclei. Further analysis confirmed this hypothesis by trapping and neutralizing the ions.

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Hi, I would just like to know how did Geiger and Marden create a vacuum for alpha particles during the Rutherford scattering experiment? Also, when Rutherford discovered the alpha particle did he know it had +2e charge?

Any help would be appreciated. I've looked everywhere for the answers but can't find them anywhere :(

Thanks
 
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I couldn't find out how they created the vacuum, but I suspect they just used a normal vacuum pump. It's not exotic technology, considering that it was invented in 1650.

As for the alpha particles, he used a mass spectrometer to measure their charge to mass ratio. Since he got 0.5e/amu, he guessed that they were helium nuclei. To prove that they were actually helium nuclei, he trapped the ions, neutralized them, and analyzed the spectrum. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_particle#History_of_discovery_and_use
 

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