Compton effect as a double Doppler shift

Abstract

The Compton equation is normally developed using the photon model, but it is also capable of derivation based on a classical wave model of light, and there is a considerable history of such derivations, including one by Compton himself. A simple derivation in the laboratory frame based on waves scattered by a statistical aggregate of recoil electrons is developed in this paper, providing a bridge between microscopic events and macroscopic observation, and implications of coexisting wave and particle model derivations of the Compton effect are discussed. The parallel derivations based on contrasting models can also furnish an instructive exercise for students.