Shown in the figure below is a re-creation of the Rutherford experiment. The "target" (green) nucleus is Uranium and has a charge of Q = 1.474e-17 Coulombs and a large mass. You fire a Helium nucleus, with charge q = 3.204e-19 Coulombs and mass m = 6.642e-27 kg at a velocity of v₁ = 2.15e+07 m/s from a location far away from the Uranium nucleus. At moment #2, the separation between the centers of the two nuclei is d₂ = 8.544e-14 meters. We shall treat the Uranium nucleus as stationary throughout the process.

Very far away, dj ~ co Moment #1 d2 O Moment #2 V3=0 d3=? Moment #3