Difference between revisions of "Compton Scattering"
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'''Compton Scattering''' is the collision process between a [[X-ray]] or a [[gamma ray]] and a bound atomic electron where only part of the energy of the electromagnetic ray is transferred to the electron. | '''Compton Scattering''' is the collision process between a [[X-ray]] or a [[gamma ray]] and a bound atomic electron where only part of the energy of the electromagnetic ray is transferred to the electron. | ||
| − | The effect was at first observed by [[Arthur Holly Compton]] in 1923 at Washington University in St. Louis. Compton was rewarded the 1927 [[Nobel Prize]] in Physics for this discovery. | + | The effect was at first observed by [[Arthur Holly Compton]] in 1923 at Washington University in St. Louis and explained in his article ''"A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-ray by Light Elements"''<ref>Arthur H. Compton: ''A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-ray by Light Elements'', The Physical Review, Vol. 21, No. 5, May, 1923</ref>. Compton was rewarded the 1927 [[Nobel Prize]] in Physics for this discovery. |
| − | Arthur H. Compton ''treated the x-ray photons as particles and applied conservation of energy and conservation of momentum to the collision of a photon with a stationary electron.''<ref>[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/quantum/compeq.html#c1 Compton Scattering Equation], ''Hyperphysics'', C. R. Nave, Georgia State University</ref>. He used the [[Planck]] relationship and the [[E=mc²|relativistic energy expression]] to derive the ''standard Compton formula'': | + | [[File:Compton Scattering Diagram.png|thumb|246px|right]]Arthur H. Compton ''treated the x-ray photons as particles and applied conservation of energy and conservation of momentum to the collision of a photon with a stationary electron.''<ref>[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/quantum/compeq.html#c1 Compton Scattering Equation], ''Hyperphysics'', C. R. Nave, Georgia State University</ref>. He used the [[Planck]] relationship and the [[E=mc²|relativistic energy expression]] to derive the ''standard Compton formula'': |
<math>\Delta \lambda = \frac{h}{m_e c} (1-\cos \theta)</math> | <math>\Delta \lambda = \frac{h}{m_e c} (1-\cos \theta)</math> | ||
Revision as of 07:47, January 20, 2013
Compton Scattering is the collision process between a X-ray or a gamma ray and a bound atomic electron where only part of the energy of the electromagnetic ray is transferred to the electron.
The effect was at first observed by Arthur Holly Compton in 1923 at Washington University in St. Louis and explained in his article "A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-ray by Light Elements"[1]. Compton was rewarded the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery.
Arthur H. Compton treated the x-ray photons as particles and applied conservation of energy and conservation of momentum to the collision of a photon with a stationary electron.[2]. He used the Planck relationship and the relativistic energy expression to derive the standard Compton formula:
<math>\Delta \lambda = \frac{h}{m_e c} (1-\cos \theta)</math>
Here, Δλ denotes the difference between the wavelengths of the incoming and the scattered ray, while θ is the angle of scattering.
The probability for Compton scattering is approximately proportional to the atomic number Z, and for energies greater than 500 keV approximately proportional to <math>\frac{1}{E^\gamma}</math>,[3] the energy of the gamma ray photon.
Reference
- ↑ Arthur H. Compton: A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-ray by Light Elements, The Physical Review, Vol. 21, No. 5, May, 1923
- ↑ Compton Scattering Equation, Hyperphysics, C. R. Nave, Georgia State University
- ↑ Glossary of Nuclear Science Terms. Retrieved on January 10, 2013.