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It was Ernest Rutherford who discovered that atoms are mostly composed of empty space with electrons orbiting a very dense nucleus.
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What did Rutherford proposed?
He proposed a new model of the atom in which there is a small dense positively charged nucleus with negatively charged electrons around the outside. The electrons are far away in comparison to the size of nucleus, so the majority of the atom is made up of empty space.
How did Thomson help our understanding of the atom?
He discovered that the atom contained smaller particles called electrons.
What are found in the space surrounding the nucleus of an atom?
The space around the nucleus of an atom is called the electron cloud. The electron cloud is the space in which the electrons of that atom travel. Compared to the nucleus, the electron cloud is enormous.
Do atoms have empty space?
Yes. In 1908, Rutherford conducted an experiment of shooting a beam of alpha particles through a sheet of tinfoil. Most of the alpha particles went straight through the foil, which proves that there are empty spaces in atoms. And the rest of the particles that didn't go straight through the foil are deflected at acute angles, those particles are deflected by the positive nucleus in the center of the atoms.
What was Rutherfords main contribution to science?
He discovered that most of the mass of an atom and all of thepositivecharge are in the centre. Most of the atom is 'empty' space, occupied by electrons, which orbit thenucleus.Gold Foil ExperimentHe shot streams of alpha particles (Helium nuclei) through a thin gold foil and discovered most of them passed through and a minority deflected back. As alpha particles are positively charge, that means the nucleus of atoms are also positive as it deflects alphas away. (pos-pos,repeland neg-pos, attract)
