Editing Rutherford scattering experiments (section)

=== Comparison to JJ Thomson's results ===
{{See also| Plum_pudding_model#Thomson's_1910_scattering_model}}
In 1910, Thomson presented a model for [[beta particle]] scattering<ref name="ThomsonScattering1910">{{cite journal |author=J. J. Thomson |year=1910 |title=On the Scattering of rapidly moving Electrified Particles |journal=Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |volume=15 |pages=465–471 |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofcam15190810camb/page/464/mode/2up}}</ref> which predicted that in the plum pudding model, a beta particle could be scattered by a significant angle after a series of atomic collisions. Rutherford's model produced stronger scattering by concentrating the positive charge of the atom at a central point rather than spread it over the volume of the atom. Then a collision with just one atom could produce a larger effect on a beta particle than Thomson's model. Rutherford completed his analysis including the effects of density and foil thickness, then concluded that thin foils are governed by single collision scattering, not multiple collision scattering.<ref name=Heilbron1968/>{{rp|298}}

But Thomson's scattering model could not account for large scattering when it came to [[alpha particle]]s, which have much more momentum than [[beta particle]]s.{{dubious|date=March 2025}}  Even with multiple collisions, the possibility of an alpha particle being deflected by any measurable amount is so low as to be meaningless.