What were the expected results of Rutherford’s gold foil experiment, based on Thomson’s model of the atom? How did the real results of the gold foil experiment change the accepted model of the atom?

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dtan5457 · Answer

What was expected was that the alpha particles being fired (positive charged beams), was going to pass through everything in the atom, as Thompson revealed that the atom is made of electrons. Therefore, if Thompson was right, positive should be able to go straight through negative. However, it deflected in the middle, showing that a positively charged nucleus exist.