Question: Two protons approach each other towards a head-on collision with kinetic energies of 100keV each.
a. What is the total momentum of the system? Explain your reasoning.
b. Before the collision, when they are far away from each other, what are the system's total kinetic energy Ktot and its electrical potential energy U?
c. What is Ktot at the point of closest approach? Find the separation r0 between the two protons when they are at the point of closest approach.
d. What is the force (magnitude and direction) that one proton exerts on the other when they are separated by a distance r0?
e. What did Rutherford conclude from his analysis of Geiger and Marsden's experiment with α particles?