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Kapitza 1933

This document summarizes a 1933 paper by P. L. Kapitza and P. A. M. Dirac on theoretically predicting and experimentally attempting the reflection of electrons from standing light waves. The paper outlines a theoretical model treating the interaction of electrons with two counter-propagating light beams. It predicts that under suitable conditions, the electrons could undergo stimulated scattering according to Bragg's law of diffraction. Calculations suggest that with 1930s technology, the fraction of reflected electrons may be too small (around 10-14) to detect with typical light sources, but an intense spark discharge may make observation possible.

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58 views5 pages

Kapitza 1933

This document summarizes a 1933 paper by P. L. Kapitza and P. A. M. Dirac on theoretically predicting and experimentally attempting the reflection of electrons from standing light waves. The paper outlines a theoretical model treating the interaction of electrons with two counter-propagating light beams. It predicts that under suitable conditions, the electrons could undergo stimulated scattering according to Bragg's law of diffraction. Calculations suggest that with 1930s technology, the fraction of reflected electrons may be too small (around 10-14) to detect with typical light sources, but an intense spark discharge may make observation possible.

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Luc Depree
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Mathematical 

Proceedings of 
the Cambridge Philosophical 
Society
http://journals.cambridge.org/PSP

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The reflection of electrons from standing 
light waves
P. L. Kapitza and P. A. M. Dirac

Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society / Volume 29 / 
Issue 02 / May 1933, pp 297 ­ 300
DOI: 10.1017/S0305004100011105, Published online: 24 October 2008

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/
abstract_S0305004100011105

How to cite this article:
P. L. Kapitza and P. A. M. Dirac (1933). The reflection of electrons from 
standing light waves. Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge 
Philosophical Society, 29, pp 297­300 doi:10.1017/S0305004100011105

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Messrs Kapitza and Dirac, The reflection of electrons, etc. 297

The reflection of electrons from standing light waves. By P. L.


KAPITZA, Ph.D., Trinity College, Messel Professor of the Royal
Society, and Professor P. A. M. DIRAC, St John's College.
[Received 24 March, read 1 May 1933.]
It is well known that a beam of light falling on a reflecting
mirror forms standing waves. This effect has been very beautifully
made use of in Lippmann's colour photography process. The standing
light waves, in this case, produce a periodic effect in the emulsion
of the photographic plate which, when developed, scatters light and
produces a similar colour effect. Instead of using a beam of light,
it would seem possible to scatter electrons from the emulsion and
obtain a reflection of electrons similar to that of a space grating.
But it seemed to us that it would be of much greater interest to
consider an experiment in which electrons are reflected from the
standing waves of light. The direct scattering of free electronic
waves by light has strictly never been observed, and it was thought
possible that by this method, owing to the interference of the
electrons and to the fact that the scattered electrons are focussed
to one spot, the magnification of the phenomenon would be sufficient
to make it observable. From the theory developed below, it will be
seen that the experiment is just on the verge of possibility, and
would be very difficult to carry out. The main interest of the
experiment would come from the possibility of observing stimulated
scattered radiation which up to the present has never been verified
experimentally.

The general idea of the experiment is illustrated in the figure.


A beam is formed from a source of electrons A which pass through
298 Messrs Kapitza and Dirac, The reflection of electrons
a diaphragm B, and the beam is accelerated by an accelerating
potential V between A and B. The beam of electrons passes very
close to a mirror G which is illuminated from a source of light 0
through a lens D. Between G and D standing waves will be formed,
and part of the electrons, instead of going to the point E, will be
reflected to the point E'. It will be seen that the reflection will be
according to Bragg's law, where the lattice spacing is equivalent
to half the wave-length of the standing waves. All the apparatus
has to be placed in a vacuum, and the experiment is only possible
when the ratio of the intensity of the reflected beam which
reaches the point E' to the intensity of the undeflected beam
which reaches the point E is of sufficient magnitude to be
observed.
A simple way of dealing with the problem theoretically is as
follows. Instead of supposing the electron to pass through a field
of stationary waves, we may suppose it to be acted on by two beams
of progressive waves with the same frequency and moving in opposite
directions. Each of these beams by itself would give rise to Compton
transitions, in which a photon is absorbed from that beam and
re-emitted in an arbitrary direction, the electron experiencing at the
same time a recoil which deflects it out of its original path. With
both beams acting together, however, a new effect must also occur,
according to Einstein's laws of radiation, provided that the initial
velocity and direction of motion of the electron are suitably adjusted.
This is the effect of stimulated Compton scattering, in which a photon
is absorbed from one beam and its re-emission is then stimulated
by the existence of the other beam, the electron again experiencing
a recoil. The frequency of occurrence of this second process is
proportional to the product of the intensities of the two beams, in
contradistinction to that of the first process, which is of course
proportional simply to one of the intensities. Thus when the field
of radiation is weak, the ordinary Compton effect predominates,
while when it is sufficiently strong the stimulated effect pre-
dominates.
It is the stimulated process that interests us here. This may be
seen from the fact that the laws of conservation of energy and
momentum in this case lead to Bragg's conditions for the scattering
of the electron waves. The re-emitted photon in the stimulated
process must have the same frequency and be in the same direction
as the stimulating radiation. Thus the re-emitted photon must have
the same frequency v as the absorbed photon and must move in the
opposite direction. The momentum transferred to the electron must
therefore be of magnitude 2hvjc and must be in a direction normal
to the standing wave surfaces, while the energy transferred must
be zero. It follows that the electron waves must be reflected from
the standing wave surfaces with the angle of reflection equal to the
from standing light loaves 299
angle of incidence and the wave-length a of the electron waves
must be connected with their angle of incidence 6 by the relation

2 ,
c a
i.e. a = (civ) cos 8 = X cos 0,
which is just Bragg's law with the lattice spacing £X.
To calculate approximately the intensity of the reflected electron
beam we may neglect the velocity of the electron compared with
the velocity of light and work from Thomson's formula. Thus we
have
7 (l)
'
where 70 is the energy of the incident beam of light per unit area
per unit time and /_ is the energy of the light scattered in the
backward direction by one electron per unit solid angle per unit
time. To pass from the non-stimulated to the stimulated effect, we
must multiply the right-hand side of (1), in the case of non-polarized
radiation, by the factor
2

2K?
where I'a. is the energy of the stimulating beam of light per unit
area per unit solid angle per unit time per unit frequency range.
If we suppose the stimulating beam to be spread through a small
solid angle dm, then the stimulated scattered beam will be spread
through this same solid angle, so that its total energy per unit time
will be
I d
^ h r d Il[
' (2)

where I,' = I'm da is the energy of the stimulating beam per unit
area per unit time per unit frequency range.
If we now divide the right-hand side of (2) by hv, the energy
of one quantum, we get the probability of occurrence of the
stimulated scattering process per unit time for one electron. We
must then multiply by the time the electron remains in the field
of radiation, namely l/v, where I is the length of its path in the field
and v is its velocity, to get the total probability of the electron
being deflected. The result is

To interpret the factor I0L' occurring in this formula, we must


suppose the initial beam of radiation Io to consist of a narrow
300 Messrs Kapitza and Dirac, The reflection of electrons, etc.
spectral line, which all the same has a finite breadth, so that it can
be resolved into its harmonic components thus:
> = 1/„ dv,

where /„ is the energy per unit area per unit time per unit frequency
range. Each element of frequency range dv will now contribute to
the term IOIV' an amount /„/„'dv. Thus the result (3) for the
probability of an electron being deflected becomes
dv.
2m2c2hVtVwJ
i
" *
In order to examine the conditions under which the experiment
could be carried out, let us assume the following data:
Let us take the velocity of the electrons to be v = 3 x 108 cm./sec,
which corresponds to a potential difference of 25 volts between A
and B; then, taking green mercury light, X = 5460 x 10"8, the angle
between the original beam and the reflected beam will be about
005°. Let us assume that the intensity of the chosen spectral line
coming from an ordinary mercury arc lamp per sq. cm. of the mirror
is about 1 watt (107 ergs per sec), and that the length of the mirror
is I = 10 cm. and the breadth of the spectral line AX = 01 x 10~8cm.
With these data we find that the reflected fraction of electrons
which reach the spot E' is only of the order of 10~14 of the number
reaching the spot E.
We see, therefore, that the experiment could scarcely be made
with ordinary continuous sources of light, and it seems to us that
the only possibility would be to produce the illumination by using
an intense spark discharge instead of a mercury arc. In this case,
a much larger intensity will be obtained for a short time, but, since
the magnitude of the phenomenon is proportional to the square of
the intensity, this will increase the number of reflected electrons.
The calculation of this case is somewhat difficult, since certain losses
will be produced by the broadening of the lines in the spark dis-
charge. Actual experiments will have to be made to find out if it
is possible to raise the momentary intensity without undue
broadening of the lines, in order to raise the intensity of the
reflected beam to an observable value.

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