- #1
Avatrin
- 245
- 6
Hi
I recently got some weird feedback on homework. It said that "..momentum is only conserved componentwise..". The problem involved Compton scattering, and I had used [itex] p_{\lambda,1} = p_{e,2} + p_{\lambda,2}[/itex] to find [itex]p_{e,2}[/itex] for collision between an electon and a photon. I had used the absolute values for the momenta because that was all I had.
So, in the general case, how is momentum conserved? Also, in the specific case, how should it be used in problems like the one above?
I recently got some weird feedback on homework. It said that "..momentum is only conserved componentwise..". The problem involved Compton scattering, and I had used [itex] p_{\lambda,1} = p_{e,2} + p_{\lambda,2}[/itex] to find [itex]p_{e,2}[/itex] for collision between an electon and a photon. I had used the absolute values for the momenta because that was all I had.
So, in the general case, how is momentum conserved? Also, in the specific case, how should it be used in problems like the one above?