Question
What observations led Rutherford to believe that central part of the atom is positively charged?
Solution
Rutherford designed a model in which fast moving alpha (a)-particles were made to fall on a thin gold foil. On the basis of above experiment Rutherford concluded that:
i) Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the (a)-particles passed through the gold foil without getting deflected.
ii) Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the atom occupies very little space.
iii) A very small fraction of (a)-particles were deflected by 1800, indicating that all the positive charge and mass of the gold atom were concentrated in a very small volume with in the atom.
