Question

Why was Rutherford's experiment so important ot the understanding of the structure of an atom? Does this model still fit what we know about the structure of an atom?

Answer 1

It dramatically changed the way atoms were viewed since it proved that the nucleas existed(previously, they thought that the medium itself was positively charged), it actually helped MAKE the modern atomic structure, the electron cloud model.

Answer 2

The importance of the Rutherford model is that its atom model was totally different from that presented by Thomson. Rutherford showed that the measure of distance between the electron and the nucleus is large and a large part of the volume of the atom is empty.

Step-by-step explanation:

His experiment was known as the gold foil experiment, where he showed that electrons were not located in the positive sphere, as Thomson had suggested. In the Rutherford model, at the center of the atom was the mass of the atom and was positively charged. This he called nucleus and called protons to the particles that were located inside. The electrons orbited the nucleus.

His interpretations of his model brought them together in four postulates where he explained the structure of the atom. Rutherford discovered in this way the structure of the atom that is still in force today