7D50.35 - Rutherford Scattering

Code Number:
7D50.35
Demo Title:
Rutherford Scattering
Condition:
Excellent
Principle:
Nuclear Scattering
Area of Study:
Modern Physics

Disclaimer

Equipment:
Rutherford Scattering Apparatus, Different Diameter Targets, Touch Sensitive Tape, Large Protractor.
Procedure:

Place the scattering unit on a table and tape a new length of touch tape around the outer diameter.  Select and install the desired diameter target.  Place the cardboard screen over the target if it is desired to hide the target size from the class.  Find the center of the target by adjusting the screw bolt that governs the position of the gun.  Each Plexiglas shim is 1/2 cm wide.  By adding or subtracting these from the area between the adjusting bolt and the gun mounting shaft the gun may be easily moved in precise steps when shooting at the target.  Measuring the scattering angle of the shot pellet will give a reasonably accurate target diameter.

References:
  • Kurtis A. Fletcher, Nicole M. Lallier, Jack M. Masman, "Erratum: "The Projectile Scattering Apparatus - A Modern Update to a Classic Experiment", Phys. Teach 61, 6-9, (Jan. 2023), TPT, Vol. 61, #3, March 2023, p. 164.
  • Kurtis A. Fletcher, Nicole M. Lallier, Jack  M. Masman, "The Projectile Scattering Apparatus - A Modern Update to a Classic Experiment", TPT, Vol. 61, #1, Jan. 2023, p. 6.
  • Steven R. Thompson and Peter Seligmann, "Squirt-Gun Scattering", TPT, Vol. 29, #1, Jan. 1991, p. 62.
  • Ford and Hood, "'Clouds and Nuggets', and 'Response'", TPT, Vol. 26, #1, Jan. 1988, p. 9.
  • Vincent Santarelli and Nicodemo Rinaldis, "Hard-Sphere Scattering with a Light Beam", TPT, Vol. 17, #9, Dec. 1979, p. 609. 
  • R. D. Edge, "String and Sticky Tape Experiments", TPT, Vol. 16, #3, Mar. 1978, p. 149.
  • Arthur Eisenkraft, "On Seeing Atoms and Other Things", TPT, Vol. 13, #7, Oct. 1975, p. 425.
  • Robert J. Jasinski and Jeffrey C. Weitz, "Sargent -Welch Scattering Apparatus, An Evaluation", TPT, Vol. 12, #5, May 1974, p. 305.
  • Jerry D. Wilson, "Rutherford Scattering Box With 107 GeV Accelerator", TPT, Vol. 12, #7, Oct. 1974, p. 437.
  • Rudolph J. Eichenberger, "Using the Overhead Projector in Simulation of the Rutherford Scattering Experiment", TPT, Vol. 10, #3, Mar. 1972, p. 147, also A Potpourri of Physics Teaching Ideas - Odds and Ends, p. 317.
  • James A. Blackburn and H. J. T. Smith, "Determining a Force Law From a Scattering Experiment", AJP, Vol. 72, #2, Feb. 2004, p. 237.
  • Robert I. Price, "Use of the "Welch" Scattering Apparatus", AJP, Vol. 55, #10, Oct. 1987, p. 931.
  • H. L. Armstrong, "Thomson's Atom - Not So Far Wrong?", AJP, Vol. 52, #8, Aug. 1984, p. 679.
  • A. N. Mantri, "On the Small-Angle End of the Rutherford Scattering Formula", AJP, Vol. 45, #11, Nov. 1977, p. 1122.
  • J. C. Ramage, J. McLeown, and K. W. D. Ledingham, "A Convincing Demonstration of the Rutherford csc4 (θ/2) Law", AJP, Vol. 43, #1, Jan. 1975, p. 51.
  • Olan E. Kruse, "A Look at the Small-Angle End of the Rutherford Scattering Formula",  AJP, Vol. 43, #4, Apr. 1975, p. 328.
  • James A. Earl, "Modified Version of the MIT Rutherford Scattering Apparatus for Use in Advanced Undergraduate Laboratories", AJP, Vol. 34, #6, June 1966, p. 483.
  • E. R. Wicher, "Elementary Rutherford Scattering Simulator", AJP, Vol. 33, #8, Aug. 1965, p. 635.
  • Richard H. Lindsay, David H. Ehlers, and Raymond R. McLeod, "Rutherford Scattering Apparatus for Laboratory and Lecture Demonstration", AJP, Vol. 33, #12, Dec. 1965, p. 1055.
  • Thomas H. Osgood and H. Sim Hirst, "Rutherford and his Alpha Particles", AJP, Vol. 32, #9, Sept. 1964, p. 681.
  • H. Brody, "A Simulated Scattering Experiment", AJP, Vol. 31, #9, Sept. 1963, p. 729.
  • D. J. Prowse, "Note on the "Welch" Scattering Apparatus", AJP, Vol. 29, #12, Dec. 1961, p. 854.
  • Johanna Miller, "Electron Scattering Provides a Long-Awaited View of Unstable Nuclei", Physics Today, Vol. 76, #11, Nov. 2023, p. 14.
  • S-255: "Marbles on Base of Book Rack", DICK and RAE Demo Notebook.
  • David Kutliroff, "49, An Inverse Square Law Force Field Sculpture", 101 Classroom Demonstrations and Experiments For Teaching Physics, p. 109.
  • Borislaw Bilash II and David Maiullo, "Target Shoots Back", A Demo a Day: A Year of Physics Demonstrations, p. 359.
  • Robert P. Crease, "Dawning Beauty: Rutherford's Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus", The Prism & The Pendulum, Ch. 9, p. 168 - 183.
  • Bobby Mercer, "Black Box", Junk Drawer Chemistry, 2016, p. 52.
  • W. Bolton, "The Scattering of Particles by "Atoms"", Book 3 - Atomic Physics, Physics Experiments and Projects, 1968, p. 79-80.
"A Nice Animation of the Rutherford Experiement",

Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.