Shortly after Marie and Pierre Currie discovered radiation in the late 1800’s, Ernest Rutherford conducted his Gold Foil Experiment (in 1899). He shot particles at a thin piece of gold foil, and found that most went through. However, a small percentage of the particles deflated. They were scattered at large angles and went back in the direction they were coming from. He discovered that they repelled with the positive charge of the gold nucleus. Rutherford also made contributions to the structure of the atom itself. For example, in 1911, he found that electrons orbit outside the nucleus of the atom. He was also the first to see protons
