{"id":1800,"date":"2021-05-31T18:51:27","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T13:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goseeko.com\/blog\/?p=1800"},"modified":"2021-10-30T07:40:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T07:40:41","slug":"what-is-the-compton-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goseeko.com\/blog\/what-is-the-compton-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Compton Effect?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Compton Effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Compton in 1923 performed an experiment and discovered the most important confirmation about the particle aspect of radiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By scattering X-rays off free electrons, he found that the wavelength of the scattered radiation is larger than the wavelength of the incident radiation. As a result we can say that this explanation can be made by assuming that the X-ray photons behave like particles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to classical physics, the incident and scattered radiation should have the same wavelength. We know that the energy of the X-ray radiation is too high so it is not absorbed by a free electron. Therefore the incident X-ray would then provide an oscillatory electric field due to which the electron executes oscillatory motion. Hence it radiate light with the same wavelength but with an intensity I that depends on the intensity of the incident radiation I0<\/sub>. But these two predictions of classical physics are not in accordance with the experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By experiment Compton reveals that the wavelength of the scattered X-radiation increases <\/em>by an amount , called the wavelength shift and that  depends not on the intensity of the incident radiation, but only on the scattering angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After treating the incident radiation as a stream of particles (photons) colliding elastically with individual electrons, Compton is able to explain his experimental results successfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compton\u2019s Experimental Observation:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n