Compton Scattering
High Energy Physics
Every great discovery I ever made, I gambled that the truth was there, and then I acted in faith until I could prove its existence. Arthur Holly Compton
In this experiment you will measure the energy change of photons scattered from free electrons as a function of angle. This is known as the Compton effect because it was described by Arthur Holly Compton. It illustrates one of the fundamental ways that E&M manifests itself.
|
Top: High Voltage source for biasing the PMT. Bottom: Signal amplifier, which is connected to the Spectech spectrometer (MCA). |
click to enlarge
|
The photomultiplier tube (PMT). It can be rotated so that you can explore Compton scattering. |
click to enlarge
