ˈkäm(p)tən- noun
also compton scattering
Usage: usually capitalized C
Etymology: after Arthur H. Compton died 1962 American physicist who first observed it
: the scattering of an X-ray or gamma-ray photon upon impact with an electron within an atom accompanied by transfer of a part of the photon's energy to the electron with consequent loss of frequency — compare compton shift