Question:
Enlist the conclusions drawn by Rutherford from his a-ray scattering experiment.
Solution:
He made the following conclusions from the experiment.
1. As most of the alpha particles passed through undeflected, this means that they did not come across any obstruction in their path. Thus, most of the space in an atom is expected to be empty.
2. As a few alpha particles suffered minor deflections and a very few major deflections, this means that these must have met with some obstructions in their path.
3. This obstruction must be:
1. Very small : Only a few particles were obstructed by it.
2. Massive : Each alpha particle has 4 u mass and is quite heavy. It could easily pass through a light obstruction by pushing it aside.