What occurs during the Compton effect?

During the Compton effect, an incident x-ray photon interacts with an outer shell electron of an atom. This interaction results in the transfer of some of the photon's energy to the electron, causing the electron to be ejected from its orbit. As a result, the x-ray photon is deflected and loses energy, producing a lower-energy scattered x-ray. This decrease in energy and change in direction are characteristic of Compton scattering and highlight the quantum mechanical behavior of photon-electron interactions.

This phenomenon is an essential principle in understanding how x-ray photons scatter in matter, which is crucial for both imaging and radiation protection in radiographic practices. Other interactions such as photoelectric absorption or Rayleigh scattering involve different processes that do not occur in the same context as the Compton effect.