n. The scattering undergone by a stream of heavy charged particles fired at a sample of a heavy metal, caused by exposure to Coulomb forces in the atomic nuclei of the sample.[After Ernest Rutherford.]
Rutherford scattering
Rutherford scattering
[′rəth·ər·fərd ‚skad·ə·riŋ] (atomic physics) Scattering of heavy charged particles by the Coulomb field of an atomic nucleus.