Атомның ядролық құрылымын ұсынған Рутерфорд моделі

First atomic structure proposal to include a nucleus and electron orbits

The Rutherford model was devised by Ernest Rutherford to describe an atom. Rutherford directed the Geiger–Marsden experiment in 1909, which suggested, upon Rutherford's 1911 analysis, that J. J. Thomson's plum pudding model of the atom was incorrect. Rutherford's new model for the atom, based on the experimental results, contained new features of a relatively high central charge concentrated into a very small volume in comparison to the rest of the atom and with this central volume containing most of the atom's mass; this region would be known as the atomic nucleus. The Rutherford model was subsequently superseded by the Bohr model.

After Rutherford's discovery, scientists started to realise that the atom is not ultimately a single particle, but is made up of far smaller subatomic particles. Subsequent research determined the exact atomic structure which led to Rutherford's gold foil experiment. Scientists eventually discovered that atoms have a positively charged nucleus (with an exact atomic number of charges) in the center, with a radius of about 1.2 × 10−15 meters × [atomic mass number]1/3. Electrons were found to be even smaller. Later, scientists found the expected number of electrons (the same as the atomic number) in an atom by using X rays. When an X ray passes through an atom, some of it is scattered, while the rest passes through the atom. Since the X ray loses its intensity primarily due to scattering at electrons, by noting the rate of decrease in X ray intensity, the number of electrons contained in an atom can be accurately estimated.

Rutherford's model deferred to the idea of many electrons in rings, per Nagaoka. However, once Niels Bohr modified this view into a picture of just a few planet like electrons for light atoms, the Rutherford–Bohr model caught the imagination of the public. It has since continually been used as a symbol for atoms and even for "atomic" energy (even though this is more properly considered nuclear energy). Examples of its use over the past century include but are not limited to:
The logo of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, which was in part responsible for its later usage in relation to nuclear fission technology in particular. The flag of the International Atomic Energy Agency is a Rutherford atom, enclosed in olive branches. The US minor league baseball Albuquerque Isotopes' logo is a Rutherford atom, with the electron orbits forming an A. A similar symbol, the atomic whirl, was chosen as the symbol for the American Atheists, and has come to be used as a symbol of atheism in general. The Unicode Miscellaneous Symbols code point U+269B (⚛) uses a Rutherford atom. The television show The Big Bang Theory uses a Rutherford atom as its logo. The JavaScript library React uses the Rutherford atom as its logo. On maps, it is generally used to indicate a nuclear power installation.