. For
this gives
, a value which is very small in comparison with ordinary atomic dimensions but still very great compared with the dimensions to be expected for the nucleus. According to Rutherford’s calculation the dimensions of the latter are of the same order of magnitude as
.
§6. Radioactive Phenomena.
According to the present theory the cluster of electrons surrounding the nucleus is formed with emission of energy, and the configuration is determined by the condition that the energy emitted is a maximum. The stability involved by these assumptions seems to be in agreement with the general properties of matter. It is, however, in striking opposition to the phenomena of radioactivity, and according to the theory the origin of the latter phenomena may therefore be sought elsewhere than in the electronic distribution round the nucleus.
A necessary consequence of Rutherford’s theory of the structure of atoms is that the