Abstract
We saw in Chapter 14 that studies of the atom indicated that the atom consists of a very small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons. Experiments on the scattering of a particles revealed that the nucleus has dimensions of the order of 10-14 m. Since the diameter of an atom is of the order of 10-10 m, the nucleus takes up only a minute fraction of the volume of an atom. The nucleus, however, contains nearly all of the mass of the atom, as was also shown by the scattering experiments.
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Some Further Readings
E. Curie, Madame Curie: A Biography, V. Sheean, transi. ( New York: Da Capo Press, 1986 ).
G. Holton and S.G. Brush, Physics, The Human Adventure ( Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001 ), Chapter 27.
S. Quinn, Marie Curie: A Life ( New York: Perseus Press, 1996 ).
T Trenn, The Self-Splitting Atom: The History of the Rutherford—Soddy Collaboration ( London: Taylor and Francis, 1977 ).
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Cassidy, D., Holton, G., Rutherford, J. (2002). Probing the Nucleus. In: Understanding Physics. Undergraduate Texts in Contemporary Physics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-7698-0_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-7698-0_17
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