Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment - Backstage Science 

That's my father. He was a really intelligent guy and I am still so proud of him.

It's REALLY cool to be able to see this experiment-I've only seen it in books! Thank you so much!

I was torn in half by this video.....one side loved the cool science of it and the other half was driven insane by that doorbell noise!

I've always been fascinated by this experiment that Rutherford did to prove the atom was not a single blob. In my opnion its one of the most revealing experiments in all history of mankind.

Someone get the door!

I'm here because of my assignment

This is the best explanation of the Rutherford Experiment I've ever watched. Very clear and it has a working replica of the experiment.

By far the best explanation of Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment and Plumb Pudding model that I"VE ever seen...

I can't focus on what he is saying with that door bell ringing noise

Buy full version today, to remove irritating ringing!!!

Man, I really want to do this, but I have no gold foil...

the ghost in the atom wants to know if you're home.

thank you . for a reconstruction of the rutherford experiment

Does that ringing bell tells us that alpha particle is detected by alpha detector..and yeah those detectors must be present @ angel of 180 Degree too.

A lot of speaker wire and headphone jacks/plugs today use gold plating/wires as well since it causes the least amount of interference. You could probably get gold the same way from there as well ^.^

Thank you!. I finally understand.

It seems the detectors are at quite precise angles - is that for a reason? Do all of the electrons hitting or getting deflected by the gold leaf/foil deflect at particular angles, or are the detectors placed in the most likely positions?

My dog was barking at the door all through this. Good way to link Rutherford's experiment with Cern.

Do they ever take quantum effects into consideration in this particular experiment?

So nobody knew about the atomic nucleus before his experiments? that is amazing to me! It wasn't that long time ago :X

@MrTranceNinja No scattering goes on around the target. You move the second detector to get a statistical scatter count for each angle. It always bothers me that they simplify this point in the animations. So alpha particles mostly go in a straight line to the 1st detector and a "small" number scatter in ALL directions from the gold atom encounter. Is that clear.

excellent video, thanks

History and practicality together. Great video. Quit worrying about the bell, it's just a BELL!

So useful. Its good to know that someone out there knows what he's doing. :-)

@thewindowproject The distribution of particles is proportional to 1/sin^4(O/2)

I put on video, walked away heard the bell ring, paused the video. checked who was at the door, walked back pressed play, heard it again paused. this happen one more time. reset, the video read what it said! and :) lol

the brass can? does brass behave the same way that Lead did back in Rutherfords day?

12 people obviously had a teacher assign this to be watched

I dont normaly like dodgy top comments on a good science video. But that nearly made me choke on my bong. Cheers

The bell could be outside the jar. I think the digital counters are outside as well.

excellent thank you.

After every deflection would the nucleus of the Gold foil would it loose energy?

Excellent explanation and experiment recreation. Subscribed.

The gold foil is 1.5 microns thick, and the gold atoms atoms are in the nanometer range... how many layers of gold atoms does the helium nuclei need to avoid to pass through without deflection? Thousands? ....Why is only one gold atom shown in the model? That doesnt look like an accurate model to me. How frequently are the alpha particles being emitted? Does gold foil that thick present an effectively solid wall of gold? If helium nuclei pass through easily, how about helium atoms? How about water? Wouldnt a pin-ball sort of behavior be expected for the alpha particles? Helium is a noble gas, but a helium with a +2 charge would be an incredibly reactive ion, desperately seeking electrons...could it react chemically?? These are the sorts of questions that anyone would wonder about. I do.

@iiAngelic this is wat i understand alpha particles r positive so wen they come in contact with the proton very close they deflect back i'm i correct if u get the correct answer tell me pls

@iiAngelic A negative and negative deflected like a magnet and how he found out I believe was by using a nucleus that was negatively charged so every time a electron would go thru it would bounce back in various directions

i love that bell sound

it helped me so much in my studies......

Great experiment video with "anybody can understand" illustrations, however the doorbell volume was overwhelming the rest of the audio.

wt abot the alpha particle vch mak head to head contact with the nucleus? that part is not mentiond here. any hv nyc n imformative

Exelente !

@vk2zay The range of alpha particles from Am-241 in air @STP is about 4.13 cm

Is that belljar under vacuum? The MFP of alphas from Am-241 can't be too long?

Is there a vacuum in the bell jar?

@LtPinback Ah right - that makes sense, thanks. Simple diagrams only make things more complicated, it would seem. :P

@flakemusic86 hahahaha, it got me too. I went to the door thinking there was someone!

@zapo147 thank you! :-)

thanks good video

Loved your video!!!!!

nice

Awesome channel, Brady! I only found out about it today! I wish you got rid of the cheesy 80's educational video music, though :/

if alpha particles are helium nuclei (lighter than air) surely it makes more sense to place the detector above the alpha decay outlet - also what about the atoms in the air causing interference!

this is reallly cool

Well but the electrons were not spread randomly, as what shrodinger said that the electrons are spread in organised clouds of electrons...

thank u so much....

the person who disliked thought there was someone at the door and kept pausing the video and running to the door.

nice science!!

@HAMMERHEARTSSB He also looks like Nicolas Rush, from Stargate Universe!

Great video, but you should have used some Genesis music =P (Mike Rutherford played the bass/guitar in Genesis)

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW THE DETECTORS WORK? ARE THEY PHOTODIODES, COVERED BY THIN ALUMINUM MYLAR?

nyc one..

how this experiment can show the actual geometry of an atom?! You can only speculate about it.

@vk2zay it was pumped down yes.

Nice. :D

They definitely repeat the experiment without the particle source, then subtract this control from the measured count. This matters only if you want to quantify the result, the phenomena is obvious without this control.

@ManusCelerDei legend... probably a more correct term

cool thank u n nw YOU tube thanxxxx! =D

Easier to make thin enough, even if it is expensive.

Not hard to get. I'd probably cheat and plate some thin copper and then disolve the center :-) . Old electronics have a fair bit of gold plating ( early 70s it could be gold alloy ) and if you just need a strip then drop a wire wrap pin ( old style apx 1 mm by 2 mm ) into some dilute nitric and wait. If you find a Burrows B500 computer to strip, I'd like an invitation to your yacht afterwards :D

This experiment proves that atoms are mostly empty space. But does this say how big the nuclei are?

Marvin Cervantes:"the brass can? does brass behave the same way that Lead did back in Rutherfords day?" Brass and pretty much most metal will work because it stops alpha particles. The gamma ray will mostly pass through and they will hit the detector head on. All you need to do is remove the gamma ray counts from the counter.

i still don't understand. why do the particles bounce back?

@LtPinback No. (period) Scattering goes on around the target.

Gotta Love Chemistry

what about background radiation

I thought one of Rutherfords students were responsible for this laborious experiment? Is this true?

@Mrleopleasure I know I don't get the use of knowing this, except for the use of wanting to make an atomic bomb.

@vmelkon if there is a vacuum in there, then there would be any sound

@Phil Sam

exactly however i gave it a like as it was interesting

@deanbrickland The size of a nucleus is extremely small compared to the entire atom, the probability of a head-on collision is very low.

Maybe i sound stupid but.. How can there be particles of a particular charge all disposed in a container?

@flakemusic86 Maybe it's an alpha particle at the door ! :-/

about:cache

how can i download it

yeah...it wasn't too long ago...only a century back ;)

It has nothing to do with interference. Copper and aluminum are more likely to oxidize than Gold. Interference is caused by inductance or magnetic fluctuations caused by alternating electrical current.

preety gud one

A-level physics :'(

excellent vid - thanks! @puncheex thumbs up for that :)

I know this has already happened but Hydrogen

I only study chemistry for the methamphetamine business.

answer your damn door!

Would somebody get the door!?

Great presentation. (...but you need to see an American dentist, right away!)

Awesome experiment! Awful doorbell!

intesresting

am i the only one who wanted this guy to say the word "strawberry" the whole time? straw-bur-ee

Didn't he use radium as an alpha source? Nice job anyway.

the video