The Compton effect is the transfer of energy from electromagnetic radiation to stationary subatomic particles, confirming the theory of photons. Compton scattering is observed as a change in direction and wavelength of photons. Compton’s work on this phenomenon earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics.
The Compton effect is the transfer of energy from light and other electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays, to stationary subatomic particles such as electrons. This observable effect lends credence to the theory that light is made up of particles called photons. The energy transferred is measurable and the interaction complies with the laws of conservation of energy. That is, the combined energy of the photon and electron before the collision is equal to the combined energy of the two particles after the collision. A secondary and related result of the collision of photons and electrons is known as Compton scattering, which is observed as a change in the direction of the photons after the collision and a change in their wavelength.
In the early 20th century, noted physicist Max Planck theorized that electromagnetic energy, like visible light and other radiation, is composed of individual packets of energy called photons. It was further assumed that these packets were massless but had individual natures and sometimes behaved like and shared certain properties with other subatomic particles with observable masses. A series of experiments and calculations led to the acceptance of this theory, and when the Compton effect – the scattering of electrons due to their absorption of energy from photons – was observed and recorded by physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 20, the theory of Planck has been further strengthened.
Compton’s work on the phenomenon that became known as the Compton Effect later earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics. Compton observed that photons could impart energy to subatomic particles such as electrons, causing them to scatter or fly away from their original positions. Under certain conditions, this can cause electrons to separate from their parent molecules, either ionizing them or changing their net electrical charge from neutral to positive by removing the negatively charged electron.
He further observed that after the collision, the photon showed an increase in wavelength, a direct result of its energy loss to the electron and related to the angle of deflection in its change of direction, known as Compton scattering. This relationship is defined by an equation known as Compton’s formula. A common analogy used to explain the Compton effect is the striking of a group of stationary billiard balls by a moving object ball. The cue ball imparts some of its energy to the other balls, which is dispersed when the cue ball moves in another direction at reduced speed. While light has a constant velocity, the pellet’s reduced velocity is analogous to the photon’s lower-energy state after collision with an electron, which is shown by its longer wavelength rather than reduced velocity.
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