How did the Rutherford atomic model differ from J.J. Thomson’s plum-pudding model?

The Rutherford atomic model fundamentally differed from J.J. Thomson’s plum-pudding model by shifting the distribution of charge and mass within the atom.

In Thomson’s model, the atom was envisioned as a sphere of uniformly distributed positive charge with negatively charged electrons embedded throughout, similar to plums in a pudding.21

In contrast, Ernest Rutherford proposed that the atom consists of a tiny, dense, positively charged nucleus where nearly all the mass is concentrated. Instead of being embedded in a positive medium, electrons circulate around this central nucleus at a distance, much like planets revolving around the Sun.2

Rutherford’s model was developed to explain the results of alpha particle scattering experiments, which revealed that most of the atom is actually open space, contradicting the solid, uniform structure suggested by the plum-pudding model.23