= Ernest Rutherford
{c}
{tag=Physicist}
{title2=1871–1937}
= E. Rutherford
{c}
{synonym}
<Ernest Rutherford>'s 1911 calculation explained rare large-angle <alpha particle> <scattering> by concentrating an atom's central <electric charge> into a region small compared with the <atom>. In the single-<Rutherford scattering> approximation, the predicted <differential scattering cross-section> varies as $\sin^{-4}(\theta/2)$ and as the inverse square of the incident <kinetic energy>. These dependencies make the model testable through angular counts and controlled changes of beam <energy>, beyond merely observing that occasional particles turn backward.<The Scattering of Alpha and Beta Particles by Matter and the Structure of the Atom by Ernest Rutherford>[Sections on single scattering by a central charge and comparison with observed large-angle scattering]{ref}
A <physicist>.https://www.physics.manchester.ac.uk/about/history-and-heritage/[Independent biographical identity and professional specialization]{ref}
\Image[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Ernest_Rutherford_%28Nobel%29.jpg]
{title=Portrait of <Ernest Rutherford>}
{width=240}
The <Rutherford scattering> model connects large-angle deflections to concentrated <electric charge>. The <Geiger-Marsden experiment> supplies the experimental context; a predicted angular distribution needs comparison with detector geometry and background counts.
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