In scattering theory and in particular in particle physics, elastic scattering is one of the specific forms of scattering. In this process, the energy of the incident photon or particle (electron, positron, or neutron) is conserved and its propagating direction is changed by the potential of the target. The scattering theory is a branch of quantum mechanics whose aim is the study of scattering events. ... Particles explode from the collision point of two relativistic velocity (100 GeV) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... For the Science Fiction missile, as seen in Star Trek, see Photon torpedo. ... Properties The electron is a subatomic particle. ... A positron is the antiparticle of the electron. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 939. ... Electrical potential is the potential energy per unit charge associated with a static (time-invariant) electric field, also called the electrostatic potential or the electric potential, typically measured in volts. ...

Electronic elastic scattering

When an electron is an incident particle and it is diffracted in the Coulomb potential of atoms and molecules, the elastic scattering process is called Rutherford scattering. In many electron diffraction techniques like reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), transmission electron diffraction (TED), and gas electron diffraction (GED), where the incident electrons have sufficiently high energy (>10 keV), the elastic electron scattering becomes the main component of the scattering process and the scattering intensity is expressed as a function of the momentum transfer defined as the difference between the momentum vector of the incident electron and that of the scattered electron. RHEED stands for Reflection High Energy Electron diffraction. ...

Optical elastic scattering

When a photon penetrates into a medium composed of atoms and molecules whose sizes are much smaller than the wavelength of the incident photon, the scattering process becomes elastic scattering and is called Rayleigh scattering. In this scattering process, the energy (and therefore the wavelength) of the incident photon is conserved and only its direction is changed. In this case, the scattering intensity is proportional to the fourth power of the reciprocal wavelength of the incident photon. The wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave pattern. ... Rayleigh scattering causing a sunset Rayleigh scattering (named after Lord Rayleigh) is the scattering of light by particles smaller than the wavelength of the light. ...