Scribd
Upload
137 views1 page

Frank Herbert Attix (Auth.) Assorbimento Fotoni - Introduction To Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry (1986) - 141-176-4

The document summarizes the Compton effect, which describes the scattering of photons by charged particles like electrons. It presents three key equations that describe the kinematics of Compton scattering and the relationships between the energy of the incident photon (hv), the scattered photon (hv'), and the kinetic energy of the recoiled electron (T). It also shows that for low energy photons, Compton scattering is nearly elastic, but at high energies the scattered photon energy depends on the scattering angle according to the equations.

Uploaded by

EnricoBogoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
137 views1 page

Frank Herbert Attix (Auth.) Assorbimento Fotoni - Introduction To Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry (1986) - 141-176-4

The document summarizes the Compton effect, which describes the scattering of photons by charged particles like electrons. It presents three key equations that describe the kinematics of Compton scattering and the relationships between the energy of the incident photon (hv), the scattered photon (hv'), and the kinetic energy of the recoiled electron (T). It also shows that for low energy photons, Compton scattering is nearly elastic, but at high energies the scattered photon energy depends on the scattering angle according to the equations.

Uploaded by

EnricoBogoni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

11.

COMPTON EFFECT

m,
"=-
T = mc2 - m,,c2
p = mv
where v is the electron's velocity, m is its relativistic mass, and p its momentum.
As a result of the substitution for pt, Eqs. (7.l ) , (7.2), and (7.3)constitute a set
of three simultaneous equations in these five parameters: hv, hv', T, 8, and 9. These

*
equations can be solved algebraically to obtain any three of the variables we choose
in a single equation. Of the many equations that may be thus derived, the following
set ofthree equations, each in three variables, provides in convenient form acomplete
solution to the kinematics of Compton interactions:

hu' =
1 + (hv/m&*) (1 - cos 9)
I T = hv - hv' I (7.9)

(7.10)

in which m&* (the rest energy of the electron) is 0.51 1 MeV, and hv, hv' and Tare
also expressed in MeV.
It will be seen from Eq. (7.8)that for a given value of hv, the energy hv' and angle
p of the scattered photon are uniquely correlated to each other. Equation (7.9)then
provides the kinetic energy Tof the corresponding scattered electron, and Eq. (7.10)
gives its scattering angle 8.
Figure 7.3 is a simple graphical representation of the kinematic relationships be-
tween hv, hv', and T, as expressed by Eqs. (7.8)and (7.9). It can be seen that for
hv smaller than about 0.01 MeV, all the curves for different p-values converge along
the diagonal, indicating that hv' = hv regardless of photon scattering angle. Con-
sequently the electron receives practically no kinetic energy in the interaction. This
means that Compton scattering is nearly elastic for low photon energies. An earlier
theory of y-ray scattering by Thomson, based on observations only at low energies,
predicted that the scattered photon should always have the same energy as the in-
cident one, regardless of hv or p. That is shown in Fig. 7.3 by the extension of the
diagonal line to high energies. This curve also applies to the Compton effect for the
trivial case of straight-ahead scattering, p = 0.
The failure of the Thomson theory (see next section) to describe high-energy
photon scattering necessitated the development of Compton's theory, which pro-
vides the other curves in Fig. 7.3 for the representative photon scattering angles p
= 45O, go', and 180'. For high-energy incident photons the backscattered photon
((o = 180') has an energy hv' approaching0.2555 MeV, while side-scattered photons
((p = 90') have hv' + 0.511 MeV.

You might also like