What Energy Does Compton Scatter Occur?

Compton effect or Compton scatter is one of the principal forms of photon interaction. It is the leading cause of scattered radiation in a material. It occurs due to the exchange of the photon (x-ray or gamma) with free electrons (unattached to atoms) or loosely bound valence shell (outer shell) electrons. The resultant incident photon is scattered (changes direction) and imparts energy to the electron (recoil electron). The scattered photon will have a different wavelength (observed phenomenon) and other energy (E=hc/λ). Energy and momentum are conserved in this process. The Compton effect is a partial absorption process, and as the original photon has lost energy, known as Compton shift (i.e. a shift of wavelength/frequency). The wavelength change of the scattered photon can be determined by 0.024 (1- cos θ), where θ is the scattered photon angle. Thus, the energy of the scattered photon decreases with increasing scattered photon angle.