Alpha Particle Scattering Analogue
Product Code : EL-AS-11127
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Quick answer: A mechanical analogue of Rutherford scattering using an aluminium hill, steel balls and a wooden launching ramp instead of a radioactive source. The ramp is 300 x 48 x 105 mm with index marks at 40, 60, 80 and 100 mm for known launching heights.
This models the experiment that established the nuclear atom, and it does so without any radioactive material. A steel ball rolled at an aluminium hill is deflected by a repulsive field that falls off with distance in the same way the Coulomb repulsion between an alpha particle and a nucleus does, so the scattering pattern can be measured directly. The listing describes it as using a gravitational analogue to model the inverse square Coulomb interaction.
For a school that is a significant practical advantage. The alternative is an actual alpha source, which brings licensing, storage and dose considerations; this kit has none of them, and the listing is explicit that an aluminium hill, steel balls and a wooden launching ramp are used in lieu of a radioactive source.
The quantitative design is better than most analogues. The launching ramp is 300 x 48 x 105 mm with a guide groove down its curved front face and index marks at 40, 60, 80 and 100 mm above its base, which gives four known launching heights and therefore four known incident energies. That is what turns a demonstration into an experiment: students can vary the energy in a controlled way and see how the scattering angle responds.
Specified for grade 9 to college, with a manual and enough materials for a small lab group or a demonstration. The number of steel balls, the hill dimensions and the number of groups supported are not published; ask before ordering.
Technical specifications
Specification | As published |
Product type | Rutherford scattering demonstration, mechanical analogue |
Level | Grade 9 to college |
Principle | Gravitational analogue of the inverse square Coulomb repulsion |
Radioactive source | None required; aluminium hill, steel balls and wooden launching ramp used instead |
Launching ramp | 300 x 48 x 105 mm, with guide groove down the curved front face |
Index marks | 40, 60, 80 and 100 mm above the base, giving four known launching heights |
Supplied with | Manual, and materials for a small lab group or demonstration |
Models | Rutherford scattering, leading to the Rutherford and Bohr models of the atom |
Supplied from | Ambala, Haryana, India |
Only what this listing publishes is recorded above. The number and diameter of the steel balls, the dimensions of the aluminium hill, the materials of the components and the number of groups one kit supports are not stated. Request these before ordering.
Range and ordering
This item belongs to the Atomic Structure family within Biotechnology Equipment and Labware, part of the Biotechnology range. Packaged teaching kits are listed under Biotechnology Kits. Bulk, tender and OEM quantities are handled through lab tenders and OEM orders; use the contact page to request a quotation or any specification noted above.