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Edexcel ·Physics·Cambridge AS & A Level Physics

Particle & Nuclear Physics

14 min read

The nuclear atom and the alpha-scattering experiment, nucleon and proton numbers, isotopes, the four fundamental forces, quarks, leptons and beta decay.

The nuclear atom

Rutherford's alpha-particle scattering experiment fired alpha particles at thin gold foil. Most passed straight through (the atom is mostly empty space); a few were deflected through large angles, and very few bounced back. This showed the atom has a tiny, dense, positively charged nucleus containing nearly all the mass, with electrons in the space around it.

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