By observing the scattering of alpha particles from gold foil, Rutherford determined that atoms have:

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rutherford's experiment showed that while most alpha particles passed through the gold foil with little deflection, some were scattered at large angles, indicating a dense positive core (later called the nucleus) at the center of the atom. This disproved the idea of evenly distributed positive charges throughout the atom. The experiment did not directly relate to isotopes, wave-particle duality, or the size of atoms.

By Observing the Scattering of Alpha Particles from Gold Foil