A shadow of the repulsive Rutherford scattering and Hamilton vector

Abstract

The fact that repulsive Rutherford scattering casts a paraboloidal shadow is rarely exploited in introductory mechanics textbooks. Another rarely used construction in such textbooks is the Hamilton vector, a cousin of the more famous Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector. We will show how the latter (Hamilton's vector) can be used to explain and clarify the former (paraboloidal shadow).

8 pages, 2 figures, to be published in European Journal of Physics

References in corpus (2)

• Remark on orbital precession due to central-force perturbations
• A shadow of the repulsive Rutherford scattering in the fixed-target and the center-of-mass frame

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Thorne-Żytkow objects with mirror neutron star cores?
• A shadow of the repulsive Rutherford scattering in the laboratory frame