What Is Elastic Scattering?

In the scattering process, if the internal energy and structure of the two particles involved in the scattering do not change, this scattering is called elastic scattering. In the elastic scattering process, the system can obey the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of momentum.

Elastic scattering is caused by the existence of an elastic wave encountering an inhomogeneous material body. In the process of elastic wave propagation, any point on the surface at a certain time can be regarded as a new seismic source. The component of this wave emitted to the surroundings Contains all seismic waves, such as reflected waves, refracted waves, diffraction waves, section waves, etc. These waves are collectively called scattering.

In neutron physics, resonance elastic scattering and potential scattering are both elastic scattering. The former has the process of forming complex nuclei, while the latter does not undergo the formation of complex nuclei. Neutrons are mainly slowed down by thermal scattering in thermal neutron reactors. ^[1]

Rayleigh and Mie scattering ^[3]