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?

In the alpha-particle scattering experiment, if a thin sheet of solid hydrogen isused inplace of a gold foil, then the scattering angle would not belarge enough. This is becausethe mass of hydrogen(1.67×10−27)is less than the mass of incidentα−particles(6.64×10−27).Thus, the mass of the scattering particle is more than the target nucleus(hydrogen). As a result,theα−particleswould not bounce back if solid hydrogen is usedin theα−particlescattering experiment.