Über das Wesen des Comptoneffekts; ein experimenteller Beitrag zur Theorie der Strahlung, pp. 639-663 in: Zeitschrift für Physik, Bd. 32, Heft 9, June 1925. NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS 1954

BOTHE, Walther & GEIGER, Hans

Edité par Berlin: Springer, 1925

A propos de cet article

First edition of the famous Bothe-Geiger experiment, which "confirmed the existence of photons, conservation of energy and the Compton scattering theory" (Wikipedia), and for which Bothe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1954. "The discovery of the Compton effect in 1923 stirred up the physics community. It had shown that X-rays, scattered off electrons under a given angle, changed their wavelength. If one assumed that photons, like material particles, possess energy and momentum, the Compton effect could be explained easily. But this assumption at that time was hard to accept for many, in particular for Bohr. Together with Kramers and Slater he tried to reconcile quantum effects with Maxwell's theory of the electromagnetic field. In a paper entitled 'The Quantum Theory of Radiation' they tried to elaborate Planck's original idea of 1900 in which the properties of the electromagnetic field were left unchanged and all quantum effects were caused by the structure of the atoms. In what is now called the 'BKS theory', the three authors conjectured that the atom contains many virtual oscillators, one for every possible transitions between stationary states, and that these oscillators communicate with those of other atoms through virtual fields by probability laws. In that theory they had to accept, however, that energy and momentum are not conserved in each individual process but only in the statistical average . . . Shortly after the appearance of that theory in print Bothe and Geiger published a note announcing that they would test it by searching experimentally for the simultaneous appearance of a scattered photon and a recoiling electron. They devised the apparatus for what is believed to be the first coincidence experiment [the offered paper] (Brandt, Harvest of a Century, pp. 140-1). "Werner Heisenberg remained agnostic with respect to BKS theory. In a letter to Arnold Sommerfeld, he wrote: 'For the rest I believe more and more that the question 'photons or correspondence principle' is a question of semantics. All effects in quantum theory must after all have a classical counterpart, for the classical theory is almost correct; thus all effects must have two names, a classical and a quantum [name]. Which one prefers is really a matter of taste. Perhaps the Bohr radiation theory is a very happy description of this dualism; I am anxiously awaiting the results of the Bothe Geiger experiment'" (Wikipedia). Bothe and Geiger "devised a sophisticated measuring instrument consisting of two opposing needle counters. An X-ray was passed through the gap between these counters. While one of the counters responded only to the light quanta, the other registered only the recoil electrons. The deflections of the light counter and the electron counter were recorded on silver bromide film that moved past the counters at high speed. Fine strips on the film allowed the scientists to precisely record the timing of the particles as they collided. According to the authors, if a quantum of light and a recoil electron collided simultaneously and their joint impact could be measured as a coincidence, then the particle nature of light would be confirmed and the law of conservation of energy proven also at the atomic level. If, in contrast, there were a delay in the response by the two counters, that would argue against the particle nature of light and the strict validity of the law of conservation of energy, thus giving credence to the agitators in Denmark . . . Bothe and Geiger showed that, with an accuracy of one ten-thousandth of a second, the 'light counter' and the 'electron counter' responded simultaneously . . . Walther Bothe and Hans Geiger had provided one of the strongest arguments for Einstein's light quanta" (Maier, Particle billiards, captured on film, MaxPlanckResearch). 8vo, pp. 639-720. Original printed wrappers (light vertical crease for posting, upper inner corner bumped).

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Über das Wesen des Comptoneffekts; ein experimenteller Beitrag zur Theorie der Strahlung, pp. 639-663 in: Zeitschrift für Physik, Bd. 32, Heft 9, June 1925. NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS 1954
• Éditeur: Berlin: Springer
• Date de parution: 1925
• Reliure: Soft cover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Very Good