Rutherford's three observations:
- Most alpha particles passed stright through the foil.
- Some were deflected through angles less than 90 degrees.
- A very small proportion of particles were deflected through angles greater than 90o.
His three subsequent conclusions:
- Most of the atoms are empty space.
- The alpha particles have an overall positive charge, forcing them to be repelled away from the metal atoms in the foil.
- The atoms in the foil have a large, dense nucleus in their centres.