Gold Foil Experiment

Definition

Conducted by Ernest Rutherford, this experiment involved shooting alpha particles at thin gold foil. Most passed through but some were deflected, leading to the conclusion that most of an atom's mass is concentrated in its nucleus.

Related terms

Alpha Particle: A positively charged particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons.

Nucleus:

The small, dense region at the center of an atom where protons and neutrons are located.

Atomic Mass:

The mass of an atom, most of which is concentrated in the nucleus.