Why did Rutherford select a gold foil in his alpha ray scattering experiment?

Last updated at Dec. 16, 2024 by

For the scattering experiment, Rutherford wanted a sheet which could be as thin as possible. 

 

Since Gold is the most malleable of all known metals.. He selected a gold foil.

 

This gold foil was about 1000 atoms thick.

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CA Maninder Singh is a Chartered Accountant for the past 14 years and a teacher from the past 18 years. He teaches Science, Economics, Accounting and English at Teachoo