What was the difference between Thomson's and Rutherford’s models of the atom? Explain how Rutherford was able to refute Thomson's model?

Answer 1

Thomson's model of the atom, proposed in the early 20th century, depicted the atom as a sphere of positive charge with negatively charged electrons embedded throughout, much like raisins in a plum pudding. This model suggested that the atom was positively charged overall and that the electrons were evenly distributed throughout the atom.

On the other hand, Rutherford's model of the atom, proposed in 1911, suggested that the atom consisted of a small, dense, positively charged nucleus at the center, with negatively charged electrons orbiting around it. This model was based on the results of the famous gold foil experiment, where Rutherford and his team observed that most of the alpha particles passed through the gold foil, but some were deflected at large angles. This led Rutherford to conclude that the majority of the mass and positive charge of an atom was concentrated in a small, dense nucleus, surrounded by mostly empty space.

Rutherford was able to refute Thomson's model by conducting the gold foil experiment, which revealed that the majority of the mass and positive charge of an atom was concentrated in a small nucleus, rather than being evenly distributed throughout the atom as Thomson had proposed. The deflection of alpha particles at large angles indicated the presence of a dense nucleus with a positive charge, contradicting Thomson's plum pudding model. Rutherford's model of the atom with a nucleus at the center and electrons orbiting around it provided a more accurate description of the structure of the atom.