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Suppose you are given a chance to repeat...

Suppose you are given a chance to repeat the alpha- particle scattering experiment using a thin sheet of solid hydrogen in place of the gold foil. (Hydrogen is a solid at temperatures below 14 K.) What results do you expect?

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The nucleus of a hydrogen atom is a proton. The mass of it is `1.67 xx 10^(–27) kg`, whereas the mass of an incident a-particle is `6.64 xx 10^(–27) kg`. Because the scattering particle is more massive than the target nuclei (proton), the `alpha`-particle won’t bounce back in even in a head-on collision. It is similar to a football colliding with a tenis ball at rest. Thus, there would be no large-angle scattering.
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