Atomic and nuclear physics

X-ray physics Physics of the atomic shell

LEYBOLD Physics Leaflets

P6.3.3.7

C omp t on e ff ec t : verif ying t he energy loss o f t he sca tt ered x-ray quan t um

Objects of the experiment

Measuring t he t ransmission values T1 and T2 o f a C u f oil f or unsca tt ered x-rays and x-rays sca tt ered a t an aluminum body. De t ermining t he waveleng t h shif t f or sca tt ered x-rays from t he change in t he t ransmission . C omparing t he measured waveleng t h shif t wit h t ha t calcula t ed on t he basis o f t he C omp t on sca tt ering .

Principles
Compton effect: I n 1923 , t he American physicis t A. H. Compton observed a waveleng t h shif t in x-rays sca tt ered a t a sca tt ering body, which he explained on t he basis o f t he quan t um na t ure o f x-rays . H e in t erpre t ed t his e ff ec t as a collision be t ween an x-ray quan t um and an elec t ron o f t he sca tt ering ma t erial , in which t he energy h!c E= h: Plancks cons t an t c: velocit y o f ligh t : waveleng t h (I) collision and 1 and 2 are t he waveleng t hs o f t he x-ray quan t um be f ore and a f t er collision , a rela t ivis t ic f ormula t ion o f t he conserva t ion o f energy gives us m0 ! c2 h!c h!c + m0 ! c2 = + 1 2 %v( 2 (II)

### "

m0 : mass o f elec t ron

1$& ) 'c*

The momen t um o f an x-ray quan t um is p= h (III)

o f t he x-ray quan t um changes , as t he kine t ic energy is t ransf erred t o t he elec t ron . I n t he collision , energy and momen t um are conserved . B e f ore t he collision , t he elec t ron can be considered as being a t res t ( see Fig . 1 ) . When v is t he velocit y o f t he elec t ron a f t er t he

The conserva t ion o f momen t um is t hus h h = ! cos + 1 2 and m0

%v( 2 1$& ) 'c*

### " #
m0

! v ! cos

Fig . 1

C omp t on sc a tt ering o f an x-ray quan t um a t an ele c t ron a t res t .

0=

h ! sin + 2

v( 2 #### " 1$% & ) 'c*

! v ! sin

(I V) .

, : collision angles ( see Fig . 1 ) . We can apply some t rans f orma t ions t o (II) and (I V ) t o arrive a t t he f ollowing rela t ion f or t he change in t he waveleng t h: 2 $ 1 = h (1 $ cos) m0 ! c (V)

0508-Ste

The quan t it y h = 2 . 43 pm m0 ! c ( V I)

is t ermed t he C omp t on waveleng t h C . I t is iden t ical t o t he waveleng t h o f a pho t on having an energy equal t o t he res t ing energy o f t he elec t ron .

P6.3.3.7

LEYBOLD Physics Leaflets

This experimen t init ially measures t he coun t ing ra t e R0 f or x-rays sca tt ered a t an aluminum body wit hou t a tt enua t ion , and t hen t he coun t ing ra t es R1 and R2 wit h t he copper f oil placed in fron t o f and behind t he aluminum body, respec t ively ( see Fig . 3 ) . As t he coun t ing ra t es are low, t he coun t ing ra t e R o f background radia t ion is also t aken in t o considera t ion . Using equa t ion ( V II) , t he t ransmission values T1 = and T2 = R2 $ R (I X) R0 $ R allow us t o calcula t e t he mean waveleng t hs 1 o f t he unsca tt ered x-rays and 2 o f t he unsca tt ered x-rays . I n accordance wit h ( V II) t o (I X ) , t he waveleng t h shif t (X) R1 $ R R0 $ R (VIII)

Apparatus
1 X-ray appara t us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 End-window coun t er f or , , and x-ray radia t ion . . . . . . . 554 811 559 01 554 836

1 C omp t on accessory x-ray . . . . . . . .

Verifying the wavelength shift: Verifica t ion o f t he waveleng t h shif t is based on an arrangemen t developed by R . W. Pohl , in which t he a tt enua t ion o f t he unsca tt ered x-radia t ion in a copper f oil is compared wit h t ha t o f radia t ion sca tt ered using an aluminum sca tt ering body. The t ransmission T C u o f t he copper f oil depends in t he waveleng t h o f t he x-rays ( see Fig . 2 ) . There f ore , a shif t in t he waveleng t h o f t he x-radia t ion due t o C omp t on sca tt ering becomes apparen t as a change in t he t ransmission or t he coun t ing ra t e . The evalua t ion is f acilit a t ed by t he f ac t t ha t t he waveleng t hdependency o f t he t ransmission o f t he copper f oil can be f ormula t ed as
) TC u = e $ a ! & ' 100pm * % (
n

= 2 $ 1 under s t udy here is % 1 &% ln (R0 $ R) $ ln (R2 $ R) ( n & = 100pm ! && ) a * ''
1( % & % ln (R0 $ R) $ ln (R1 $ R) ( n ) &$& ) ) & ) a * * ' '

(XI) .

(VII)

wit h a = 7 . 6 and n = 2 . 75 .

Safety notes
The x-ray appara t us f ulfills all regula t ions governing an x-ray appara t us and f ully pro t ec t ed device f or ins t ruc t ional use and is t ype approved f or school use in G ermany ( N W 807/97 R ) . The built -in pro t ec t ion and screening measures reduce t he local dose ra t e ou t side o f t he x-ray appara t us t o less t han 1 Sv/h , a value which is on t he order o f magnit ude o f t he na t ural background radia t ion . B e f ore pu tt ing t he x-ray appara t us in t o opera t ion inspec t it f or damage and t o make sure t ha t t he high volt age is shu t o ff when t he sliding doors are opened ( see I ns t ruc t ion Shee t f or x-ray appara t us ) . K eep t he x-ray appara t us secure from access by unau t horized persons . Do no t allow t he anode o f t he x-ray t ube Mo t o overhea t . When swit ching on t he x-ray appara t us , check t o make sure t ha t t he ven t ila t or in t he t ube chamber is t urning . The goniome t er is posit ioned solely by elec t ric s t epper mo t ors . Do no t block t he t arge t arm and sensor arm o f t he goniome t er and do no t use f orce t o move t hem .

Fig . 2

Transmission o f cop p er f oil (d = 0 . 07 mm ) in t he w aveleng t h range f rom 50 t o 80 pm , me asure d a t t he LE Y B O LD D I D A C T I C la bora t ories

LEYBOLD Physics Leaflets

P6.3.3.7

Fig . 3

E xp erimen t se t up f or veri f ying t he w aveleng t h shi f t due t o C omp t on sc a tt ering Le f t : wi t hou t cop p er f il t er C en t er: wi t h cop p er f il t er (a) in f ron t o f aluminum sc a tt ering body (b) Righ t : wi t h cop p er f il t er (a) b ehind aluminum sc a tt ering body (b)

b) Copper filter in front of aluminum scattering body:

Place t he copper filt er on t he collima t or. Increase t he measuring time per angular s t ep t o t = 600 s . S t art t he measuremen t wit h t he S C A N key and display t he
mean coun t ing ra t e R a f t er t he measuring t ime elapses by pressing RE PLAY. Record t he result as coun t ing ra t e R1 . c) Copper filter behind aluminum body:

Setup
Se t up t he experimen t as shown in Fig . 3 . C arry ou t t he f ollowing s t eps:

Moun t t he copper filt er on t he sensor sea t . S t art t he measuremen t wit h t he S C A N key and display t he
mean coun t ing ra t e R a f t er t he measuring t ime elapses by pressing RE PLAY. Record t he result as coun t ing ra t e R2 . d) Background effect:

Remove t he collima t or and moun t t he zirconium filt er sup

plied wit h t he x-ray appara t us on t he radia t ion inle t apert ure side o f t he collima t or. Moun t t he collima t or t oge t her wit h t he zirconium filt er. If necessary, moun t t he goniome t er and end window coun t er ( see t he I ns t ruc t ion Shee t o f t he x-ray appara t us ) . Se t a dis t ance be t ween t he collima t or and t arge t o f approx . 5 cm and a dis t ance be t ween t he t arge t and t he de t ec t or inle t diaphragm o f approx . 4 cm . Moun t t he aluminum sca tt ering body from t he C omp t on accessory x-ray as t he t arge t . Press t he TAR G ET key and manually se t t he t arge t angle t o 20 using t he ADJU ST knob . Press t he S E N S O R key and manually se t t he sensor angle t o 145 using t he ADJU ST knob .

Se t t he emission curren t I = 0 . S t art t he measuremen t wit h t he S C A N key and display t he

mean coun t ing ra t e R a f t er t he measuring t ime elapses by pressing RE PLAY. Record t he result as coun t ing ra t e R.

Measuring example
U = 30 kV, I = 1 . 00 mA Targe t angle = 20 , sensor angle = 145 a) R0 = 3 . 88 s 1 R1 = 0 . 669 R2 = 0 . 496 s 1 s 1 t = 60 s t = 600 s t = 600 s t = 600 s b) c) d)

Carrying out the experiment

Se t t he t ube high volt age U = 30 kV and t he emission
curren t I = 1 . 00 mA . Se t t he angular s t ep wid t h = 0 . 0 .

R = 0 . 218 s 1

a) Without copper filter:

Se t t he measuring time per angular s t ep t o t = 60 s . S t art t he measuremen t wit h t he S C A N key and display t he
mean coun t ing ra t e R a f t er t he measuring t ime elapses by pressing RE PLAY. Record t he result as coun t ing ra t e R0 .

Evaluation and results

From ( V III) and (I X ) , we can calcula t e t he respec t ive t ransmission values as T1 = 0 . 119 and T2 = 0 . 071

P6.3.3.7
Using ( V II) , we can t hen calcula t e t he waveleng t hs o f t he unsca tt ered and sca tt ered x-radia t ion as 1 = 62 . 6 pm and 2 = 67 . 5 pm and t he waveleng t h shif t as = ( 4 . 9 1 . 3 ) pm . ( See below f or calcula t ion o f t he s t a t is t ical error ) . Comparison with theory of Compton scattering: The value t o be expec t ed according t o ( V ) a t a sca tt ering angle = 145 is amda = 4 . 42 pm . A11 = A02 =

LEYBOLD Physics Leaflets

We can use t he abbrevia t ions A01 = 1 ( 100 pm) ! = 3 . 0 pm ! s , R0 $ R n ! a ! 1 n$1 1 ( 100 pm) ! = 2 . 6 pm ! s R0 $ R n ! a ! 2 n$1 1 ( 100 pm) ! = 24 pm ! s and R1 $ R n ! a ! 1 n$1 1 ( 100 pm) ! = 34 pm ! s R2 $ R n ! a ! 2 n$1
n n n n

A22 =

t o re f ormula t e t he part ial deriva t ions appearing here as: = $ A01 + A02 = $ 0 . 4 pm ! s , R0 = A11 = 24 pm ! s , R1

Additional information
Statistical error: When measuring a coun t ing ra t e R a t a t ime in t erval t , N = R ! t even t s are coun t ed each t ime . The s t a t is t ical error o f t he coun t ing ra t e R here is t hus R =

= $ A22 = $ 34 pm ! s and R2 = $ A11 + A22 $ A01 + A02 = + 10 pm ! s R As expec t ed , t he errors o f t he t wo coun t ing ra t es R1 and R2 make up t he larges t part o f t his s t a t is t ical error, while t he e ff ec t o f t he coun t ing ra t e R0 can be largely ignored . From t he numerical values o f t he measuring example , we ob t ain = 1 . 3 pm This value can be halved by increasing t he measuring t imes f or R1 and R2 by a f ac t or o f f our. Corrections: I n addit ion t o inelas t ic C omp t on sca tt ering , it would also be appropria t e t o t ake t he elas t ic sca tt ering o f x-rays in t o considera t ion , in which by de finit ion no waveleng t h shif t occurs . The measured t ransmission T2 is reduced less wit h respec t t o T1 t han t he t ransmission T2 f or purely inelas t ic sca tt ered x-rays which we are ac t ually t rying t o de t ec t . The evalua t ion t hus es t ima t es t he waveleng t h shif t due t o C omp t on sca t t ering t oo low.

# " #N
t

R " # # . t

F or t he coun t ing ra t es given in t he measuring example , it f ollows t ha t R 0 = 0 . 3 s $1 , R 1 = 0 . 03 s$1 , R 2 = 0 . 03 s$1 and R = 0 . 02 s$1 These errors carry over in t o t he de t ermina t ion o f t he waveleng t h shif t . F or t his s t a t is t ical error , we can say
2 % ( ( % %( = & ! R 1) + & ! R 2) R R ' * * * ' 1 ' 2 2 2 2

( ( % % +& ! R 0) + & ! R) R R 0 * ' * '

b y L e y b old Did a c t ic G m b H

L E Y B O LD D I D A C T I C G M B H ! Leyb olds t rasse 1 ! D-50354 H r t h ! Phone ( 02233 ) 604-0 ! Tele f a x ( 02233 ) 604-222 ! Tele x 17 223 332 L H P C G N D

Prin t e d in t he F e d eral R e public o f G erm any Te chnic al al t era t ions res erv e d