PHYSICS PROJECT FILE

TOPIC–RUTHERFORD’S
ALPHA- PARTICLE
SCATTERING

SUBMITTED TO -DR. GAJENDRA SINGH

SUBMITTED BY –RISHABH LODHI
SESSION - 2022-23. CLASS- XII SCIENCE D.

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that RISHABH LODHI,
student of class XII SCIENCE D has
successfully completed his research on the
topic RUTHERFORD’S ALPHA-PARTICLE
SCATTERING under the guidance of DR.
GAJENDRA SINGH during the year 2022-23
in the partial fulfillment of the physics
project.

TEACHER’S SIGN EXAMINER’S SIGN

……………………… ………………………...

ACKNOWLEDGEMEN
T
I would thank God for being able to
complete this project with success. Then I
would to like to thank my physics teacher
DR. GAJENDRA SINGH and respected
principal ma’am MRS. RUBINA KHANAM
whose valuable guidance has been the ones
that helped me patch this project and make
it full proof success his suggestion and his
instruction has served as the major
contributor towards the completion of this
project.
RISHABH LODHI.
XII SCIENCE D.

INDEX

 AIM.
 APPARATUS.
 Introduction.
 CONSTRUCTION &
EXPERIMENT.
 OBSERVATION.
 CONCLUSION.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY.
 AIM

TO STUDY RUTHERFOR’'S ALPHA-PARTICLE

SCATTERING EXPERIMENT
 APPARATUS

 BISMUTH.
 LEAD BRICKS.
 COLLIMATOR.
 GOLD FOIL.
 ROTATABLE DETECTOR.
 ZINC SULPHIDE SCREEN.
 MICROSCOPE.
 VACUUM CHAMBER.
 INDRODUCTION
The foundations of modern ideas about atomic structure are considered to have
been laid by Sir Ernest Rutherford in 1911, with his postulates concerning the
scattering of alpha particles by atoms. Two of his students, Hans Geiger and Ernest
Marsden (an undergraduate), set out to measure the number of alpha particles
scattered out of a collimated beam upon hitting a thin metal foil. They determined
the angular distribution of the scattered particles for several different materials,
thicknesses and alpha energies. To their initial surprise, Geiger and Marsden
found that some alpha particles were scattered through large angles in atomic
collisions. This large angle scattering of alpha particles could not be explained by
existing theories. This data lead Rutherford to speculate on the structure of the
atom and devise a new “nuclear atom” model. His predictions concerning the
characteristics of this nuclear atom were confirmed by the subsequent
experiments of Geiger and Marsden with the scattering of alpha particles by thin
gold and silver foils (Phil. Mag. 25. 605 (1913)). Performance of similar
experiments in an undergraduate laboratory is not only of historical interest, but
serves to demonstrate how scattering experiments provide the physicist with a
powerful investigative technique.
The essential idea of Rutherford’s theory is to consider the α-particle as a charged
mass traveling according to the classical equations of motion in the Coulomb field
of a nucleus. The dimensions of both the α-particle and nucleus are assumed to
be small compared to atomic dimensions (10−5 of the atomic diameter). The
nucleus was assumed to contain most of the atomic mass and a charge Ze. On this
picture the Z electrons which make an atom neutral would not contribute much to
the deflection of an impinging α-particle because of their small mass. Other
models had been proposed for atoms at this time (∼1911) to account for features
such as optical spectra. One of these (Thomson’s Model) pictured the atom as a
continuous distribution of positive charge and mass with the electrons embedded
throughout. This model predicts a very small amount of scattering at large angles
compared to the Rutherford theory since the α-particles traversing this atom
rarely see much charge concentrated in a large mass.
 CONSTRUCTION &
Experiment
Rutherford proposed a new model of the atom based on Alpha-Particle Scattering
experiment. In 1911, Ernst Rutherford suggested some experiments to H. Geiger
and E. Marsden. They considered 83Ba214 (Bismuth) as a source of alpha-particles.
The entire apparatus is placed in a vacuum chamber. Both scientists performed an
experiment whose schematic diagram is shown in the figure given.

They directed a beam of 5.5 MeV α-particles emitted from a radioactive

source at a thin metal foil made of gold. The beam was allowed to fall
on a thin foil of gold thickness 2.1 × 10-7 m.
The scattered alpha-particles were observed through a rotatable
detector consisting of Zinc Sulphide screen and a microscope. The
scattered alpha-particles on striking the screen produced brief light
flashes or scintillations. These flashes may be viewed through a
microscope and the distribution of the number of scattered particles
may be studied as a function of angle of scattering.
 OBSERVATION
1. Most of the alpha particles pass straight
through the gold foil.
2. Only about 0.14% of incident alpha particles
scatter by more than 10.
3. About one alpha particle every 8000 alpha
particle deflect by more than 900.
4. The variation of number of alpha particles
scattered with angle of scattering is given in
fig.
 CONCLUSION
 Most of part of atom is empty because most of alpha
particles pass straight without deviate through gold foil.
 The entire mass and positive charge are concentrated in
the central core which is called nucleus because the alpha-
particle get large angle of scattering more than 90o or 180o.
 The size of nucleus is in order of 10-15 m and size of atom is
10-10 m. The idea of size of nucleus is taken into mind by
the closest approach of alpha-particle.
 Electrons will revolve around the nucleus in various orbits
and centripetal force for their resolution is provided by
electrostatic force between electron &nucleus. During
revolution electron will radiate energy.

Impact Parameter:
It is the perpendicular distance of the velocity vector of α
particle from the central line of the nucleus, when the particle is
far away from the nucleus of the atom.

Angle of scattering:
It is the angle made by α particle when it gets deviated from its
original path around the nucleus.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.google.com
NCERT book.