Rutherford’s Hypothesis on the Atomic Structure

Between 1901 and 1904, several atomic models had been proposed by authoritative physicists. However, despite the wide array of proposals, none proved fully convincing, and soon, due to numerous emerging problems, these initial models were all discarded, and new research was conducted. Among the physicists who made the most important experimental discoveries concerning the atomic properties in the early twentieth century, there is E. Rutherford[aut]Rutherford, Ernest. In this chapter, we will describe the long and tiring experimental work—thanks to the fundamental contributions of H.W. Geiger[aut]Geiger, Hans Wilhelm and E. Marsden[aut]Marsden, Ernest—which led Rutherford to his own idea of atomic structure.