Compton Scattering in Laymen's terms

AI Thread Summary
Compton scattering involves the interaction between photons and electrons, where photons can lose energy during the collision. When a photon is absorbed by an electron, the energy must match one of the electron's energy states to excite it; otherwise, the photon cannot be absorbed. If the energy is less than the ionization energy, the photon cannot ionize the atom or elevate the electron to a higher state. The confusion arises from the distinction between complete absorption and scattering, where photons can lose energy without being fully absorbed. Understanding these concepts clarifies the mechanisms of photon-electron interactions in physics.
StephenP91
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
I just need an explanation of this. Found it in a question. :smile:

Also, photons when absorb by an electron in an atom, does the energy (if less than the ionisation energy) have to be exactly equivalent to one of the energy states and if it isn't what happens?

You probably think I suck at Physics. You're right. :frown:

Thank you,
Stephen.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Umm... you really haven't given us (me) any reason to think you suck at physics :confused:

StephenP91 said:
Also, photons when absorb by an electron in an atom, does the energy (if less than the ionisation energy) have to be exactly equivalent to one of the energy states and if it isn't what happens?
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what that's trying to say.
 
diazona said:
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what that's trying to say.

Well, in the Photoelectric effect, when electrons get excited to a higher energy level when they attain some sort of energy. In the case of absorbing a photon, does the requisite energy (hf) have to be equal to the energy of one of the energy states.

The reason I ask this is because, on the marking scheme, one of the answers is that:

"A photon can lose all of it's energy, but not part of it"

Though, when I was reading about that Compton Effect I read something about absorbing part of it. So I am pretty darn confused.
 
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
Back
Top