Nuclear Physics

Question 1

Thomson’s plum pudding model

Answer 1

The atom is made up of a sphere of positive charge, with small areas of negative charge evenly distributed throughout.

Question 2

Rutherford scattering

Answer 2

Alpha particles were fired at a thin sheet of gold foil. The results were as follows:
- Most passed through with no deflection, suggesting that the atom is mostly empty space and that the nucleus is very small