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This type of effect is somewhat akin to a cue ball hitting a coloured ball on a pool table. Here a gamma-ray transfers only part of its energy to a valance electron which is essentially free - see figure below. Notice that the electron leaves the atom and may act like a beta-particle and that the gamma-ray deflects off in a different direction to that with which it approached the atom. This deflected or scattered gamma-ray can undergo further Compton Effects within the material.
Note that this effect is sometimes called Compton Scattering.
The two effects we have just described give rise to both absorption and scattering of the radiation beam. The overall effect is referred to as attenuation of gamma-rays. We will investigate this feature from an analytical perspective in the following chapter. Before we do so, we'll briefly consider the interaction of radiation with living matter.
