opposite charge → attract
similar charge → repel
Rutherfords -scattering experiment. When particles pass through a gold foil, most pass through undeflected but some are scattered, a few at very large angles. According to the plum-pudding model of the atom, the particles should experience only very minor deflections. The nuclear model of the atom explains why a few particles are deflected at large angles. Although the nuclear atom has been depicted here as a yellow sphere, it is important to realize that most of the space around the nucleus contains only the low-mass electrons.
Will they be attracted to or repelled from the positively charged gold nuclei?
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