Reflection of Thallium, Lead, and Antimony Atoms from Sodium Chloride Crystals

Abstract

The reflection of atomic beams of thallium, lead, and antimony from a freshly cleaved surface of a crystal of sodium chloride has been studied by means of a deposit method. The beams of thallium and lead are in part scattered at random and in part reflected so that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. Antimony incident at a large grazing angle is reflected so that the reflected beam makes a larger angle with the normal than the incident beam. It is suggested that the direction of this deviation may be qualitatively accounted for on the basis of the ideas of Duane and of Williams on the interchange of momentum between the incident particle and the crystal.