Who said atoms are mostly empty space?

Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford discovered that atoms contain mostly empty space, with his gold foil experiment. Rutherford. He also discovered the electrons circle the nucleus. Post your questions to our community of 350 million students and teachers.

Do atoms orbit like planets?

According to the Bohr or solar system model of matter, every atom consists of a nucleus with a certain number of electrons rotating about the nucleus in their orbits. This is similar to the configuration of a solar system, with a large sun in the center and planets rotating in orbits around the sun.

Is the atom mostly solid or mostly space How do you know?

Rutherford said that most of an atom is empty space, where negatively charged electrons orbit. The only solid part of an atom is the nucleus, where the positively charge protons are found. Things feel solid because of the electric force.

Why do electrons stay in orbit around the nucleus?

Simply electrons always revolve around the nucleus due to the electrostatic force between electron and nucleus,which creates a centripetal and a tangential acceleration in an electron. Due to the tangential acceleration the electron revolve around the nucleus.

Why electrons present around the nucleus of an atom do not fall into the nucleus?

The electrons revolve around the nucleus with a fixed energy level. These electrons cannot cross this energy level until an extra energy is supplied even if the energy is supplied to the system. And after losing energy, they come to ground level. But do not fall into the nucleus.

Why can’t I put my hand through a table?

The electrons in your hand are being repelled by the electrons in the table, creating a very strong repulsive force, which you think of as the ‘hardness’ of the table. You can’t put your hand through the table because the really strong electromagnetic force is causing the electrons in your hand and the table to repel!

Which theory says that the atom is mostly empty space and a solid sphere?

Rutherford’s theory that stated 1) the atom is mostly empty space; 2) in the center of the atom there is a tiny, positively charged nucleus which contains most of its mass; and 3) electrons are in a fixed orbit in the empty space around the nucleus.

Which part of the atom represents empty space?

Much of the atom represents empty space. 1913 – Based on his studies of radioactivity, British chemist Frederick Soddy suggests that each chemical element can manifest itself under several different species, called isotopes.

Why can’t electrons in an atom share the same quantum number?

For electrons in a single atom, it means two electrons can not have the same four quantum numbers. Since electrons are fermions, this principle forbids them to occupy the same quantum state, so that electrons have to “gather each other” within an atom. Although electrons never get tired, switching to a faster pace requires energy.

How does the size of an atom depend on the nucleus?

According to quantum electrodynamics, space is filled with an electron field around the nucleus that neutralizes the charge and fills the space that defines the size of the atom. In a hydrogen atom, the nucleus and the electron are very far apart, in the sense that the atom is much larger than the nucleus (and the electron is smaller still.)

Why are we made of atoms and not electrons?

Around it rotates, almost like the planets around the Sun, small points of matter called electrons. However, there is plenty of free space between the electrons and the nucleus, which means that all of us, are made up of atoms, are formed of a lot of empty space.