Thread: Rutherford Scattering Formula

Hi guys, been really struggling with this question for a while now and can't make heads or tail of it.

Question:
A beam of α particles with kinetic energy T=10 MeV and current of 10^3 particles per second is incident on a gold (Au A=197 Z=79) foil of thickness 1*10^-6m. Calculate the number of hits per hour on a detector of area 0.0001 m^2 situated 0.75 m from the foil at 10º. The density of gold is 19.3E3 kg m^-3


Relevant Equations-


My attempt-


I'm not sure how to them use the second equation.

(sorry it's not letting me attach files)
Thank you.

Interesting. Only a thread title, but no other content. Not a whole lot to go on here!

Originally Posted by tk421

Interesting. Only a thread title, but no other content. Not a whole lot to go on here!

The OP was moderated due to links. However, I think the links were added after the OP was originally posted, and thus the thread was visible even though the OP wasn't.

Originally Posted by Johhhhhnny

Hi guys, been really struggling with this question for a while now and can't make heads or tail of it.

Question:
A beam of α particles with kinetic energy T=10 MeV and current of 10^3 particles per second is incident on a gold (Au A=197 Z=79) foil of thickness 1*10^-6m. Calculate the number of hits per hour on a detector of area 0.0001 m^2 situated 0.75 m from the foil at 10º. The density of gold is 19.3E3 kg m^-3


Relevant Equations-


My attempt-


I'm not sure how to them use the second equation.

(sorry it's not letting me attach files)
Thank you.

One suggestion I would make straightaway would be to preserve the dimensions of the quantities involved. That would help you focus on what the quantities mean. As it stands, it appears that you have simply substituted various numbers for the quantities in a formula.

Here are a few things to ask yourself: What is the meaning of a scattering cross-section? How does that relate (or does it relate) to the number of scattered particles that would be found per unit area, per unit time, at some distance and angle from the scatterer?

I think that, once you've got that straight, you'll be able to complete the problem without too much difficulty. The formulas are trivial; what they mean is where you need to spend some time.