The Effect of Nuclear Structure on the Elastic Scattering of Fast Electrons

The cross section for the scattering of electrons by atomic nuclei is investigated at energies for which the nuclei can no longer be treated as point charges. Two simple nuclear models are used. A general expression is obtained using Born's approximation, and an exact numerical calculation is carried through for 20 MeV. electrons scattered by gold nuclei. It is concluded that at this energy considerable deviations from the formulac which treat the nucleus as a point charge should be expected, and that these should furnish some information about the charge distribution within the nucleus.