11–20 of 39 posts
The HN title is incorrect -- perhaps the first direct evidence is Compton's original work, showing that electrons scatter photons. If electrons scatter photons, then photons scatter electrons. Every time a photon scatters off an electron, there exists a reference frame in which the electron is brought to rest. I'm certain that one could find an earlier argument than Compton scattering, too. Maxwell surely would have…
The money shot, fig. 9 is a bit underwhelming to me though, because it is supposed to show where the "classical model" diverges from the quantum model, and I feel queesy making a trend out of three points (one point in the blue even looks like it could touch the classical model). I'd have to read into it more (will do, just not tonight). This is, however, an extremely difficult experiment to perform, hence why they only have four data points. They definitely have demonstrated that RR does occur (no duh, which is more of why it's a good paper) but I'd hold off on the claim they've really distinguished the two.
Cheers to ICL on this first.
This is a potentially impactful experimental result in my niche field, the physics of relativistic laser phenomena. People have been running simulations and imaging what RR would look like for years, and this looks like the first experimental result that shows it The money shot, fig. 9 is a bit underwhelming to me though, because it is supposed to show where the "classical model" diverges from the quantum model, and…
How is this different from Compton scattering? Unfortunately the article does not state this.
The HN title is incorrect -- perhaps the first direct evidence is Compton's original work, showing that electrons scatter photons. If electrons scatter photons, then photons scatter electrons. Every time a photon scatters off an electron, there exists a reference frame in which the electron is brought to rest. I'm certain that one could find an earlier argument than Compton scattering, too. Maxwell surely would have…
Does it mean that photons are able to scatter photons?
The HN title is incorrect -- perhaps the first direct evidence is Compton's original work, showing that electrons scatter photons. If electrons scatter photons, then photons scatter electrons. Every time a photon scatters off an electron, there exists a reference frame in which the electron is brought to rest. I'm certain that one could find an earlier argument than Compton scattering, too. Maxwell surely would have…