Scattering experiments

Experiments in which beams of particles such as electrons, nucleons, alpha particles and other atomic nuclei, and mesons are deflected by elastic collisions with atomic nuclei. Much is learned from such experiments about the nature of the scattered particle, the scattering center, and the forces acting between them. Scattering experiments, made possible by the construction of high-energy particle accelerators and the development of specialized techniques for detecting the scattered particles, are one of the main sources of information regarding the structure of matter. See also Nuclear structure; Particle accelerator; Particle detector; Scattering matrix.