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Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment
Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment
2. Atoms & Elements / Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment / Problem 2

The approximate diameter of a gold atom is 270 pm and its nucleus has a diameter of 1.0 x 10–2 pm. Calculate the fraction of the α particles in Rutherford's gold foil experiment that are scattered at large angles by using the cross-sectional area occupied by the nucleus as a fraction of that occupied by the atom. Assume a gold foil that is 4 layers thick with the nuclei equally offset from each other such that no crosssection overlaps.

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