The Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus (3 of 15)

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Episode 3 of In Search of Giants: Dr Brian Cox takes us on a journey through the history of particle physics. In this episode we learn how Ernest Rutherford conducted a historical experiment that revealed that most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in a tiny nucleus made of protons and neutrons. This film is part of a series originally broadcast on Teachers' TV (http://www.teachers.tv/video/23645). The series was made with the support of The Science and Technology Facilities Council (www.scitech.ac.uk). www.lhc.ac.uk - Official UK LHC website for public and schools. www.particledetectives.net - School resources on the LHC, how science works and particle physics. Films produced and directed by Alom Shaha (www.labreporter.com).

Channel: Science & Technology
Uploaded: March 1, 2008 at 4:32 am
Author: SciTechUK

Length: 0:03:28
Rating: 4.89
Views: 14,348

Tags: CERN LHC Large Hadron Collider Particle Physics nucleus protons neutrons Rutherford Dr Brian Cox Alom Shaha

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Video Comments:
Achmed1787 (Thursday 16th of October 2008 07:19:10 PM)
lol this is actually all i ahevt o see for my physics and chemistry test
racastilho (Tuesday 26th of August 2008 01:25:26 PM)
Why did they discard the possibility of the atoms being indeed solid, hard balls, and that the empty space between them was the cause for the alpha particles go through the gold plate?
wcwashington (Sunday 21st of September 2008 07:44:37 AM)
hmmm take two years to brainstorm that question just like they did.
Gazzar (Tuesday 21st of October 2008 09:19:50 AM)
If the atoms more closely resembled the solid balls then all of the alpha particles would rebound. If the atoms were comprised mostly of empty space with a solid nucleus in the middle then most of the alpha particles would pass straight through and only a few would, by chance, hit the nucleus and rebound - which is what happened. Hence the nucleus model was accepted in favour of the solid amorphous blob model.
racastilho (Wednesday 22nd of October 2008 05:48:26 AM)
Good point, but I was thinking of solid balls with gaps between them. The alpha particles to pass through the gaps, not throught the atmos themselves... Thanks for your reply!
kristmist (Tuesday 19th of August 2008 10:11:40 AM)
I'm so curious what the next significant invention will be...!!
RJL738 (Sunday 10th of August 2008 01:15:02 AM)
Even with the uncertainty principle, electrons are particle-like in nature and the shells are just very complex 3-dimentional orbits, meening they can't get much closer/further from the nucleus but they can go in any other direction. Also they go at roughly 90% the speed of light. Even though not nearly as much, their is also an amount of space between the protons/nuetrons.
pirskwayrd (Saturday 7th of June 2008 01:58:59 PM)
No, that's because the outter shell of every atom is comprised of electrons which all have a negative charge. Like charges repel.
rusurazvan (Saturday 9th of August 2008 09:24:27 AM)
i still dont get it, he says just a part of atoms get throught but th eother part ot, that means we left a part of us int the wall?
pirskwayrd (Sunday 24th of August 2008 03:35:27 PM)
when you touch the wall you can no longer speak about you or the wall, only the "you-wall" system. the electrons floating around in you and in the wall may freely exchange, this is how you gain/lose charge. think of why you ground yourself by touching metal before you open up your computer.