Electron scattering occurs when electrons are deviated from their original
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete ...
. This is due to the
electrostatic force
Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law of physics that quantifies the amount of force between two stationary, electrically charged particles. The electric force between charged bodies at rest is conventio ...
s within matter interaction or,
if an external magnetic field is present, the electron may be deflected by the
Lorentz force
In physics (specifically in electromagnetism) the Lorentz force (or electromagnetic force) is the combination of electric and magnetic force on a point charge due to electromagnetic fields. A particle of charge moving with a velocity in an ele ...
.
This scattering typically happens with solids such as metals, semiconductors and insulators;
and is a limiting factor in integrated circuits and transistors.
The application of electron scattering is such that it can be used as a high resolution microscope for
hadron
In particle physics, a hadron (; grc, ἁδρός, hadrós; "stout, thick") is a composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks held together by the strong interaction. They are analogous to molecules that are held together by the ele ...
ic systems, that allows the measurement of the distribution of charges for nucleons and
nuclear structure.
The scattering of electrons has allowed us to understand that
protons and
neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behav ...
s are made up of the smaller elementary subatomic particles called
quark
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All common ...
s.
Electrons may be scattered through a solid in several ways:
*Not at all: no electron scattering occurs at all and the beam passes straight through.
*Single scattering: when an electron is scattered just once.
*Plural scattering: when electron(s) scatter several times.
*Multiple scattering: when electron(s) scatter many times over.
The likelihood of an electron scattering and the degree of the scattering is a probability function of the specimen thickness to the mean free path.
History
The principle of the electron was first theorised in the period of 1838-1851 by a natural philosopher by the name of
Richard Laming who speculated the existence of sub-atomic, unit charged particles; he also pictured the atom as being an 'electrosphere' of concentric shells of electrical particles surrounding a material core.
[Further notes can be found in Laming, R. (1845): "Observations on a paper by Prof. Faraday concerning electric conduction and the nature of matter", Phil. Mag. 27, 420-3 and in ]
It is generally accepted that
J. J. Thomson first discovered the electron in 1897, although other notable members in the development in charged particle theory are
George Johnstone Stoney
George Johnstone Stoney FRS (15 February 1826 – 5 July 1911) was an Irish physicist. He is most famous for introducing the term ''electron'' as the "fundamental unit quantity of electricity".
He had introduced the concept, though not the word ...
(who coined the term "electron"),
Emil Wiechert (who was first to publish his independent discovery of the electron),
Walter Kaufmann,
Pieter Zeeman and
Hendrik Lorentz
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He also derived the Lorent ...
.
Compton scattering was first observed at
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is ...
in 1923 by
Arthur Compton
Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927 for his 1923 discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radia ...
who earned the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery; his graduate student
Y. H. Woo
Wu Youxun (; 26 April 1897 – 30 November 1977), also known as Y. H. Woo, was a Chinese physicist. His courtesy name was Zhèngzhī ().
Biography
Wu graduated from the Department of Physics of Nanjing Higher Normal School (later renamed Nat ...
who further verified the results is also of mention. Compton scattering is usually cited in reference to the interaction involving the electrons of an atom, however nuclear Compton scattering does exist.
The first electron diffraction experiment was conducted in 1927 by
Clinton Davisson and
Lester Germer Lester Halbert Germer (October 10, 1896 – October 3, 1971) was an American physicist. With Clinton Davisson, he proved the wave-particle duality of matter in the Davisson–Germer experiment, which was important to the development of the elec ...
using what would come to be a prototype for modern
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
system.
The experiment was able to demonstrate the wave-like properties of electrons,
[Details can be found in Ritchmeyer, Kennard and Lauritsen's (1955) book on atomic physics] thus confirming the
de Broglie hypothesis
Matter waves are a central part of the theory of quantum mechanics, being an example of wave–particle duality. All matter exhibits wave-like behavior. For example, a beam of electrons can be diffracted just like a beam of light or a water wave ...
that matter particles have a wave-like nature. However, after this the interest in LEED diminished in favour of
High-energy electron diffraction until the early 1960s when an interest in LEED was revived; of notable mention during this period is
H. E. Farnsworth
H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet.
H may also refer to:
Musical symbols
* H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů
* H, B (musical note)
* H, B major
People
* H. (noble) (died after 12 ...
who continued to develop LEED techniques.
High energy electron-electron colliding beam history begins in 1956 when K. O'Neill of Princeton University became interested in high energy collisions, and introduced the idea of accelerator(s) injecting into storage ring(s). While the idea of beam-beam collisions had been around since approximately the 1920s, it was not until 1953 that a German patent for colliding beam apparatus was obtained by
Rolf Widerøe.
Phenomena
Electrons can be scattered by other charged particles through the electrostatic Coulomb forces. Furthermore, if a magnetic field is present, a traveling electron will be deflected by the Lorentz force. An extremely accurate description of all electron scattering, including quantum and relativistic aspects, is given by the theory of quantum electrodynamics.
Lorentz force

The Lorentz force, named after Dutch physicist
Hendrik Lorentz
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He also derived the Lorent ...
, for a charged particle ''q'' is given (in
SI units
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...
) by the equation:
:
where ''qE'' describes the electric force due to a present electric field,''E'', acting on ''q''.
And ''qv x B'' describes the magnetic force due to a present magnetic field, ''B'', acting on ''q'' when ''q'' is moving with velocity ''v''.
Which can also be written as:
: