Answer to Question #153731 in Atomic and Nuclear Physics for daaani

Question

why charged particles with very low incident energies only elastically scatter 

Answer 1

Charged particles interact with the matter electromagnetically. Now if the incident particle has very less energy, the gain in potential would be very small too, abiding by the laws of conservation of energy. Low initial energy also rules out the possibility of a head on collision and thereby only scattering can take place, as we know the gradient is inversely proportional to the distance of nearest approach. Therefore, both momentum and energy is bound to be conserved and hence the scattering is elastic.