The Cosmic X-ray Mystery · AI Generator #GEN-12C5B1FA

Physics · modern-physics

Problem

An X-ray telescope observes two mysterious cosmic sources. Source A emits X-rays with wavelength λA=0.50  nm\lambda_A = 0.50\;\text{nm}, while Source B emits X-rays with wavelength λB=0.25  nm\lambda_B = 0.25\;\text{nm}. Astronomers discover that Source A is actually a cloud of free electrons that scatter the original X-rays from Source B via Compton scattering. The scattered X-rays from the electron cloud (Source A) are observed at a scattering angle of θ=60°\theta = 60° relative to the original direction. Given that the rest mass energy of an electron is mec2=0.511  MeVm_e c^2 = 0.511\;\text{MeV} and Planck's constant is h=6.63×10−34  J⋅sh = 6.63 \times 10^{-34}\;\text{J·s}, verify that this astronomical observation is consistent with Compton scattering physics by calculating the expected wavelength of the scattered X-rays.

Browse the problem library