Question

Which of the following pair of scattering is important for diagnostic purposes?

(a) Coherent and Compton

(b) Photoelectric and Pair Production

(c) Compton and Photoelectric

(d) Pair Production and Disintegration

I had been asked this question by my college director while I was bunking the class.

My doubt is from Radiation Therapy topic in section Radiation Therapy of Clinical Science

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) Compton and Photoelectric

The explanation is: In Compton effect, an incoming photon transfers a part of the energy to the outermost electron and then scatters off. The electron may get ejected from its shell and come out and is called the Compton electron. In the photoelectric effect, the incoming photon comes and removes the electron and ceases to exist. This photoelectron interacts with the various atoms and atomic particles by ionizing, energizing etc. The energies given off in these processes is recorded and used for diagnostic purposes.