What do you think would be the observation if the α-particle scattering experiment is carried out using a foil of a metal other than gold?
Answer
- Rutherford used a gold foil in his α-particle scattering experiment because he wanted as thin a layer as possible.
- This gold foil was about 1000 atoms thick.
- Gold is highly malleable , that is it can be beaten to very thin sheets without it breaking.
- If he had used any other metal, the sheets wouldn't be as thin as that of gold .
- The alpha particles would not be able to pass through , thus yielding inaccurate results.
