Compton wavelength

E436130

The Compton wavelength is a fundamental quantum-mechanical length scale associated with a particle, characterizing the wavelength of a photon whose scattering off that particle produces significant relativistic and quantum effects.

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Compton wavelength canonical 1

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf concept in quantum mechanics
derived physical constant
physical constant
quantum-mechanical length scale
specific Compton wavelength
specific Compton wavelength
appliesTo composite particles
electron
massive elementary particles
proton
approximateValue 1.321409853×10⁻¹⁵ m
2.426310238×10⁻¹² m
category Physical constants
Quantum mechanics NERFINISHED
contrastWith Bohr radius NERFINISHED
classical electron radius
definition wavelength of a photon whose scattering off a particle produces significant relativistic and quantum effects
dependsOn Planck constant h NERFINISHED
particle rest mass m
speed of light c
dimension length
field particle physics
quantum mechanics
relativistic quantum mechanics
hasFormula λ_C = h / (m c)
λ̄_C = ħ / (m c)
hasVariant reduced Compton wavelength
historicalContext introduced in the context of explaining Compton scattering experiments
implies localization below this scale leads to particle–antiparticle pair creation
inverseProportionalTo particle mass
namedAfter Arthur Holly Compton NERFINISHED
relatedConcept relativistic wave equations
uncertainty principle
relatedTo Compton scattering NERFINISHED
Klein–Nishina formula NERFINISHED
Planck constant NERFINISHED
de Broglie wavelength
pair production
reduced Compton wavelength
rest mass energy
SIUnit metre
symbol ħ̄ / (m c)
λ_C
usedFor characterizing quantum behavior of particles
distinguishing quantum and classical regimes
estimating onset of relativistic quantum effects in scattering
setting natural length scale for a particle
usedIn astrophysics
high-energy physics
quantum field theory

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Compton effect hasQuantity Compton wavelength