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Ernest Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment

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One of the main experiments Rutherford is known for is his Gold foil experiment. He devised a way to prove that radioactivity in particles exists in at least two forms. In the experiment tiny alpha particles were shot at a sheet of foil coated in ZnS which resulted in a small percentage went through the sheet and the rest were blocked/deflected. The percentage of particles that were able to go through the foil are now named 'Alpha Particles' and the ones that were blocked are called 'Beta Particles'. He was able to tell the difference between Alpha and Beta particles because he knew that when a particle passed through the foil it emitted a flash of light.

After completing his gold foil experiment with J.J Thomson, Rutherford investigated further …show more content…
His model of the atom has been used for science for many years and been worked on to increase the complexity of it. Most of his work has been used as a simple base/referral for scientists to work on and edit, meaning without his discoveries, many things involving the atom would yet to be discovered or improved upon.

Dewwit.T (2012). Discovery of the nucleus: Rutherfords gold foil experiment (YouTube). America

biography.com editors (2014) Ernest Rutherford biography. http://www.biography.com/people/ernest-rutherford-39099

ChemTeacher staff (2011). Chem Teacher gold foil experiment. http://chemteacher.chemeddl.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2015) Rutherford atomic model. https://www.britannica.com/science/Rutherford-atomic-model

Google sites. (2014) History of an atom. https://sites.google.com/site/historyofanatom/j-j-thomson-and-ernest-rutherford

Limmer. M (2009) the prow.org. http://www.theprow.org.nz/yourstory/ernest-rutherford-early-life/#.WK7LZPDEmrX

Mastin. L (2009). The physics of the universe. http://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/scientists_rutherford.html

Royal Society of chemistry. (2016) periodic table.

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