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| By shooting X-ray photons at electrons
in a sample of graphite, Compton clearly demonstrated
the particle nature of photons. |
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In 1923, the American physicist,
Arthur Compton, fired X-rays of a unique energy (and hence
wavelength) at a graphite sample and discovered that part
of the scattered radiation had a longer wavelength (i.e.:
less energy). Compton explained this by considering the
incident photon and electron as 'billiard balls' which bounce
off each other. Applying the well known laws of energy and
momentum conservation, he showed that there was a definite
relationship between the energy which the photon could transfer
to the electron and the scattering angle. This is direct
evidence for the particle nature of radiation! Compton won
the Nobel Prize in physics in 1927 for this work. |
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1927 - Arthur
Holly Compton »
