| Close inspection of a gamma-ray spectrum
may reveal a wide peak with energy <250keV which does not
correspond to a known photon from the source. Such a feature, termed a
Backscatter peak, is due to gamma-rays which first interact by Compton scattering with the shielding.
Backscattered gamma-rays are those scattered through a large angle (>
120°) by the shielding. The energy dependence of the
scattered gamma as a function of angle is found from:
 - where m0c2 = rest mass of an electron
This simulation
demonstrates the formation of the backscatter peak. To explore the relationship between the
energy transferred to the scattered gamma and the scattering angle go to the
graph plotting
exercise here...
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