- #1
LotusTK
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I am trying to make some "longer" notes on how the findings of Rutherfords experiment.
I have said that the nucleus was deemed to be positively charged because the alpha particles sometimes were deflected and did not continue on a straight path, and this is because of the repulsive force that the nucleus and the alpha particle feel due to them both having positive charges.
I now need to explain how the experiment proved that the nucleus is dense, and I am not quite sure i am there. I think there is a pretty good explanation that includes looking at momentum, but i don't know if I've quite got it.
So far i have:
"Eventhough the gold nucleus and alpha particle both feel the same forces, the gold nucleus moves a negligible amount, and the alpha particle is deflected dramatically. This is because of the large difference in mass between the alpha particle and gold nucleus. (I then showed that gold nucleus is 49.25 times more massive than the alpha particle)"
I was thinking i could talk more about how the alpha particle loses very little velocity during the interaction between the nucleus, then somehow link that to momentum...but then they don't actually collide, and there is an external force being applied to them both (F=kQq/r^2 i think?) so I am not entirely sure that i can use a momentum arguement.
What else could i add to my paragraph above?
Thanks in advance
I have said that the nucleus was deemed to be positively charged because the alpha particles sometimes were deflected and did not continue on a straight path, and this is because of the repulsive force that the nucleus and the alpha particle feel due to them both having positive charges.
I now need to explain how the experiment proved that the nucleus is dense, and I am not quite sure i am there. I think there is a pretty good explanation that includes looking at momentum, but i don't know if I've quite got it.
So far i have:
"Eventhough the gold nucleus and alpha particle both feel the same forces, the gold nucleus moves a negligible amount, and the alpha particle is deflected dramatically. This is because of the large difference in mass between the alpha particle and gold nucleus. (I then showed that gold nucleus is 49.25 times more massive than the alpha particle)"
I was thinking i could talk more about how the alpha particle loses very little velocity during the interaction between the nucleus, then somehow link that to momentum...but then they don't actually collide, and there is an external force being applied to them both (F=kQq/r^2 i think?) so I am not entirely sure that i can use a momentum arguement.
What else could i add to my paragraph above?
Thanks in advance