Explain what might have happened in Ruthford's experiment if he had used a thin sheet of copper instead of a thin sheet of gold
In Ernest Rutherford's famous experiment, he conducted an experiment known as the gold foil experiment, where he shot alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. By observing the scattered alpha particles, he deduced the structure of the atom and proposed the modern model of the atom.
Now, if Rutherford had used a thin sheet of copper instead of gold in his experiment, several things could have happened:
1. Scattering Pattern: The scattering pattern observed would likely change. Rutherford noticed that most of the alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil, indicating that the atom is mostly empty space, and a small fraction of the particles were deflected at various angles. If copper were used, the atomic structure of copper is different from gold, so the charge distribution and arrangement of atoms would be different as well. Thus, the scattering pattern would likely differ.
2. Particle Deflection: Gold is relatively inert and malleable, so the alpha particles had a greater chance of passing straight through the gold atoms without much interaction. Copper, on the other hand, is a more reactive metal, and its atoms may have more opportunities to interact with the alpha particles. This could result in more significant deflections and a higher amount of scattering compared to gold foil.
3. Backscattering: Rutherford's experiment revealed that some alpha particles were scattered back in his gold foil experiment. This happened because the mass of the gold atoms was concentrated in a small, dense nucleus, which caused the repulsion and deflection of the alpha particles. Copper has a different atomic structure, with a different arrangement of electrons and a different nucleus. Consequently, the likelihood of backscattering would likely be different if copper were used.
In summary, if Rutherford had used a thin sheet of copper instead of gold in his experiment, the scattering pattern, deflection of particles, and potential backscattering could have been different due to the altered atomic structure and arrangement of copper compared to gold.