Answer :
- A scintillation counter detects radiation by measuring flashes of light produced when radiation interacts with a scintillating material.
- Rutherford used gold foil because it is thin and malleable, allowing precise measurement of alpha particle scattering and accurate investigation of atomic structure.
Scintillation Counter or Scintillation Detector:
A scintillation counter is an instrument used to detect and measure ionizing radiation by recording the flashes of light (scintillations) emitted when radiation interacts with a scintillating material. These materials, often crystals or liquids, emit visible light when struck by radiation, and the light is then detected and counted by photomultiplier tubes or photodiodes.
Rutherford's Choice of Gold Foil:
Rutherford chose gold foil for his alpha scattering experiment because gold can be made into extremely thin sheets, just a few atoms thick. This allowed him to maximize the chance of alpha particles interacting with the gold atoms and provided a high level of precision in observing the scattering patterns. Gold's malleability and purity made it ideal for detecting the small angle scatterings necessary for understanding the atomic structure.
