Aha Trivia Stuff Everyone Should Know
Aha Trivia: Stuff Everyone Should Know · ahatrivia.com/mb-nuclear-science-419a2a556170

What did Rutherford's team fire at gold foil in the famous scattering experiment?

Alpha particles.

Start playing free

  1. Alpha particles ✔
  2. Gamma rays
  3. Neutrons

Why: Geiger and Marsden fired alpha particles at gold foil. Some scattered backward, revealing a dense nucleus.

Huh, didn't know that: Geiger and Marsden fired alpha particles at gold foil. Some scattered backward, revealing a dense nucleus.

The dad joke
That experiment really hit the nucleus of the matter.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Alpha particles. Geiger and Marsden fired alpha particles at gold foil. Some scattered backward, revealing a dense nucleus.

  1. Nuclear physics en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_physics
    fired alpha particles (helium 4 nuclei) at a thin film of gold foil
    Checked 2026-11-07.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

How Things WorkWhat does ionizing radiation do to atoms that nonionizing radiation does not?How Things WorkIn the ALARA principle, what does the A stand for?How Things WorkWhich three factors are the main ways to reduce a person's radiation dose?

That's stuff everyone should know.