CHEMISTRY DOUBT - Why did Rutherford think the atom was empty?

Question

Why did Rutherford think the atom was empty? It could be possible that the alpha particles went through the weak field of the positively charged particles due to the heavy mass and fast speed of the alpha particles.. So we could conclude that the atom is having dense accumulation of positively charged particles at the centre, and weak around it.. Also How did Rutherford know where the electrons could be present, as the electrons don't affect the alpha particles due to their extremely light masses, so the scattering of the alpha particles doesn't depend on the electrons..?

PLEASE ANSWER...

Answer 1

In the period leading up to Rutherford's key experiment, it was generally accepted that the atom was a more-or-less homogeneous mixture of small particles, sometimes termed the Plum Pudding Model. In his work with radioactivity, he observed some unusual results with alpha particle scattering when an thin gold foil was subjected to a beam of alpha particles. On of his graduate students was looking for a thesis project and Rutherford suggested he look into the scattering more closely. If the Plum Pudding model was correct, there should be no scattering. The results did confirm, however, that a certain fraction of alpha particle were bounced directly backwards, causing Rutherford to reportedly exclaimed as as surprising as a bullet bouncing off a sheet of toilet paper. He was merely testing the theory behind the Plum Pudding model. Since the experiment failed (the alpha particles bounced back). That led to a new view that there must be something large and heavy in an atom: the nucleus.