Solution:

Let’s solve the problem step by step:

1. Key Concepts

• Alpha particles (
  $\alpha$ 

  ) have a charge of $q_\alpha = 2e$ 

  , where $e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19} \, \text{C}$ 

  is the elementary charge.

• Electric current
  $I$ 

  is the rate of flow of charge: $$I = \frac{\text{Total charge passing}}{\text{Time}}$$ 

2. Total Charge Passing per Minute

We are given:

• 
  $N = 10,000 \, \alpha$ 

  -particles per minute,

• Each
  $\alpha$ 

  -particle carries a charge $q_\alpha = 2e = 2 \times 1.6 \times 10^{-19} = 3.2 \times 10^{-19} \, \text{C}$ 

  .

The total charge passing in 1 minute is:

$$Q = N \cdot q_\alpha = 10,000 \cdot 3.2 \times 10^{-19} = 3.2 \times 10^{-15} \, \text{C}.$$

3. Current

Convert the time from minutes to seconds:

$$t = 60 \, \text{seconds}.$$

The current is:

$$I = \frac{Q}{t} = \frac{3.2 \times 10^{-15}}{60} = 0.533 \times 10^{-16} \, \text{A}.$$

Rounding off, the current is approximately:

$$\boxed{0.5 \times 10^{-16} \, \text{A}}.$$