Is Conservation of Momentum Essential for Understanding Particle Interactions?

[matpo39]

if you have a photon with momentum $$p_\gamma$$ traveling in the +x direction which is then deflected off a free electron and now the photon has momentum $$p_\gamma'$$ and isin the +y direction.
so the components of momentum for the electron would be
p_e = $$p_\gamma'$$ in the -y direction and for the x component

$$p_ex= \sqrt{p_\gamma^2-p_\gamma'^2-p_ey^2}$$

does this seem like the correct approach to this problem?

 

[andrevdh]

What was the question?
Could this be the answer? That is the components of the momentum of the system before the interaction should be equal to the components of the momentum of the system after the interaction.

 

[quicknote]

Yes, this approach is correct. The conservation of momentum states that in a closed system, the total momentum before an interaction is equal to the total momentum after the interaction. In this scenario, the initial momentum of the photon in the +x direction is equal to the final momentum of the photon in the +y direction and the momentum of the electron in the -y direction. Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can calculate the x component of the electron's momentum after the interaction. This conservation principle is fundamental in understanding the behavior and interactions of particles in physics.