Contributions of Individuals to the Quantum Atomic Theory

Bohr and Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford was one of the chemists whom discovered the radioactive atoms, the alpha particle in the late 19th century. Since 1898, he had been studying and experimenting with these alpha particles. He discovered that these particles have a larger mass than electrons and have a net positive charge. However, he came across a problem during one of his experiments in 1909. In one of his experiments, he directed a beam of alpha particles at a piece of gold foil that was 8.6x10-6 cm thin. Based on J.J. Thomson’s theory of the atom, a positive charged sphere with electrons scattered through out the atom that cancelled out the charge, the beam of alpha particles would go through the thin piece of gold foil. In his observations, many of the alpha particles went through the foil while a few were deflected by a couple of degrees. He noticed that one in about eight thousand alpha particles deflected on......

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Title: Contributions Of Individuals To The Quantum Atomic Theory
Approximate Word Count: 1773
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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