Question

Why did Thomson’s results from experimenting with cathode rays cause a big change in scientific thought about atoms?

Answer 1

JJT came up with the "plum pudding" / "currant bun" model of the atom: the atom like a solar system that has [mercury venus earth....pluto all inside the sun, with the sun as the solar system. no kidding. [the planets being the electrons]

so the atom, the fundamental building block, was a mostly +vely charged ball, with some nuggets of -ve charge inside it. the currants. but the currants and the bun cancelled out charge-wise.

Rutherford blew that apart when he started bombarding atoms with \(\alpha\) particles: it turned out that the +vely charged bit was incredibly less spacious that the whole.

Answer 2

Nice @IrishBoy123