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What are the limitations of Rutherford’s model of the atom? –
The limitations of Rutherford’s model of the atom, in brief, are that it did not tell anything about the arrangement of electrons in an orbit and failed to explain the stability of the atom as it was not in accordance with Maxwell’s theory.
As it is already known, an atom’s structure is made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Ernest Rutherford proposed the Rutherford atomic model, also known as the Rutherford model of the atom but in modern times it is no longer thought to be an accurate picture of an atom.
Rutherford conducted an experiment in which he bombarded a thin sheet of gold foil with α-particles and then analysed the particle’s track after colliding with the gold foil. He utilised the radioactive material polonium as an alpha ray source.
He observed that the vast majority of the alpha rays passed straight through the gold foil, with only a few refracting in different directions which made him conclude that an atom is essentially an empty space with electrons circulating in predictable patterns around a fixed, positively charged nucleus.
Rutherford’s atomic model was founded on experimental findings nonetheless, it was unable to explain certain phenomena giving rise to certain limitations as follows:
The first limitation of the Rutherford model was that he did not address the configuration of electrons in an atom, leaving his theory incomplete.
According to Rutherford, electrons orbit the nucleus in set trajectories termed orbits, and also according to Maxwell, accelerating charged particles release electromagnetic radiation, thus an electron rotating around the nucleus should do the same. This radiation would transmit energy from the electron’s motion resulting in orbital shrinkage. According to calculations, the electrons would eventually collapse in the nucleus in 10-8 seconds.
Hence, the Rutherford model contradicted Maxwell’s theory which failed to explain the stability of an atom through its model.
Although early atomic models were erroneous and failed to explain certain experimental results, they served as a foundation for future quantum mechanics breakthroughs.
