Several days ago I read about the history of atoms, and how they were discovered. J.J. Thomson was the first scientist to come up with the idea that atoms had both a negative and positive charge. His model consisted of a cloud of positive charge with tiny particles of negative charge are randomly despersed inside as show in this model known as the "Plum-Pudding Model."
Later it was Ernest Rutherford who discovered that the center of every atom contained a positive charge not the entire atom itself. He did this by firing alpha radiation at gold foil and finding that some were reflected off when they hit. This diagram helped me visualize how he figured it out.
Justin, I agree with you this is an awesome diagram for visualizing Rutherford's gold foil experiment and seeing what he actually did. It is also cool because it tells us exactly what he observed ,and how he interpreted it to tell what he found involving the atom. This is a great diagram, and since we just learned about alpha particles we can have an even better understanding of what Rutherford did.
ReplyDeleteYour diagrams are very helpful and easy to understand. I agree that it helps me visualize the concepts.
ReplyDeleteI think I will begin to use this post as a study tool rather than the book. Great layout and information!
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