Critical assessment of the Compton Effect: Alternative interpretation suggested by a wave-based hypothesis

A hypothesis was recently proposed in which the interactions of light with charged particles involved interference between corpuscular magnetic waves of radiation and standing waves of the particles created by actual physical “spin” (rotation around an internal axis). Compared with a particle model of light, this hypothesis provided a superior explanation for the discrete nature of bands in absorption and emission spectra. In this article, the explanation for Compton scattering based on a particle-like property of light is critically assessed. An alternative explanation is provided based on interactions of high-frequency radiation with protons within the nuclei of the target. Finally, a set of relatively simple experiments are proposed to provide qualitative but definitive evidence to distinguish between these very different interpretations.