Geiger and Marsden's results primarily supported Ernest Rutherford's model of the atom, which proposed that an atom consists of a dense nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. Their famous gold foil experiment revealed that most alpha particles passed through the foil, but some were deflected at large angles, indicating the presence of a concentrated positive charge (the nucleus) within the atom. This finding led to the rejection of the plum pudding model proposed by J.J. Thomson. Rutherford's nuclear model laid the foundation for modern atomic theory.
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