Question

Experiments on the scattering of alpha particles showed that the radius of a nucleus is smaller than the radius of an atom by a factor of about:

Options

• \[10^4\]

• \[10^{12}\]

• \[10^2\]

• \[10^8\]

Answer 1

Alpha-particle scattering experiments demonstrated that the entire positive charge and mass of an atom are concentrated in a tiny central nucleus. These experiments showed that the nuclear radius is smaller than the atomic radius by a factor of about \[10^4\], which is why an atom is almost empty.