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I'm grateful to Mrs. Anjali Awasthi for her
expert guidance and support in completing my
Physics project on "Rutherford Atomic Model."
Her valuable insights and encouragement
helped me understand the concept better.
I appreciate her patience and dedicat ion to
teaching.
Thank you, Mrs. Anjali Awasthi, for making
Physics interesting and fun!
This is to certify that Saksham Raghav of Class XII '/\, has
successfully completed the project for Physics
titled "Rutherford Atomic Model."
The student showed diligence and dedication du ring the
research and development of the project. It is certified
that this is the original work of the student and is
suitable for evaluation.
Internal Examiner External Examiner Principal
Signature Signature Signature
•Ernst Rutherford
•Introduction
•Objective of the Experiment ~~.
•Gold Foil Experiment
•Procedure
•Key Observations
•Postulates of Ruthe~ford AtomicModel
•Drawbacks of the Model
•Bibliography
~
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
• Learned physics in
J.J. Thomson' lab.
• Noticed that 'alpha'
partides were
sometime deflected
by something in the
air.
• Gold-foil experiment
Ernest Rutherford
(JO August 1871 - 19 October 1937)
''
Ernest Rutherford, known as the "Father of Nuclear
Physics," discovered the nucleus through his gold foil
experiment. He proposed the planetary model of the
atom, identified alpha and beta radiation, and his .work
laid the foundation formodem ,atomicscience.
~~
1. Introduction °'
~~
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o")son.
jective of the Proj
The primary objective of this investigatory
project is to:
• Understand the design and procedure
of Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment.
• Analyze the observations and
conclusions drawn from the
experiment.
• Detail the structure and postulates of
the Rutherford Atomic Model.
• Discuss the limitations of this model.
The Gold Foil
~-
Experiment ~
The experiment Involved:
• A source of alpha (a) particles (positively charged, relatively
heavy particles).
• A thin sheet of gold foll (extremely thin, about 100 nm thick).
• A circular screen coated with zinc sulfide (ZnS), which produces
a tiny flash of light (scintillation) when struck by an a-particle,
allowing their path to be tracked.
• A lead box with a small slit to focus the a-part icle beam.
• Shutterstock
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Procedure
A beam of high-energy a-particles
was directed at the thin gold foil. The
scattering of the a-particles after
hitting the foil was observed by the
flashes produced on the ZnS screen.
scintillations B
screen
beam of
alpha particles
viewing
microscope
B
radioactive
source
B
A Transmitted beams
(little or no deflection) o - -~r-,,c..;:,.,~~- A
B Scattered beam o - -~
(small deflection)
C Scattered beam
(large deflection) gold atom gold foll
Key Observations
1. Most a-particles (=99.9%) passed straight
through the gold foll undeviated.
2. A small fraction of the a-particles were
deflected by small angles.
3. Very few (s:sl in 20,000) a-particles
rebounded (deflected by almost 180°)
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Postulates of the Rutherford
Atomic Model (I
■--------■
Based on the experiment, Rutherford proposed the following
features for the atomic structure:
1. The Nucleus: Almost all the mass and all the positive charge
of an atom is concentrated in a tiny region at the center called
the nucleus. The size of the nucleus is extremely small
compared to the size of the atom (about 10-5 times t he atomic
radius).
2. Extranuclear Region (Empty Space): Most of the atom
is empty space surrounding the nucleus.
3. Electrons: The negatively charged electrons revolve around
the nucleus in well-defined circular paths, much like planets
revolving around the Sun. This is why the model is sometimes
called the planetary model.
4. Electrostatic Force: The electrostatic fo rce of attraction
between the positive nucleus and the negative electrons provides
the necessary centripetal force for the electrons to orbit.
Drawbacks of Rutherford's
Model of Atom
■ ■
There are several limitations or drawbacks of
Rutherford's atomic model, which are as follows:
• Rutherford's Model predicts that electrons will orbit
around the positively charged nucleus, which is not
antici pated to be stable. A charged particle in rapid
motion along a circular route, would lose energy
continually and eventually collapse into the nucleus.
This causes an atom to be unstable, whereas we
know that atoms are extremely stable.
• Because it merely postulated the existence of
protons in the nucleus, the Rutherford Model could
not resolve the problem of atomic mass.
• Rutherford's Atomic Model doesn't explain the
arrangement of electrons in the atom, which makes
this model incomplet e in this regard.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
i. [Link]
ii. [Link]
iii. [Link]
iv. www. [Link]
v. [Link]
