[komp-tuh
n] 
| 1. | Arthur Hol⋅ly [hol-ee] , 1892–1962, U.S. physicist: Nobel prize 1927. |
| 2. | his brother, Karl Taylor [kahrl] , 1887–1954, U.S. physicist. |
| 3. | Spencer, Earl of Wilmington, 1673?–1743, British statesman: prime minister 1742–43. |
| 4. | a city in SW California. 81,286. |
| Compton (kŏmp'tən) Pronunciation Key
American physicist who showed that when particles of light (called photons) collide with other particles, such as electrons, they lose energy and momentum and the light's wavelength increases. For his discovery of this phenomenon (which became known as the Compton effect) he shared the 1927 Nobel Prize for physics with Charles Wilson. He also discovered the electrical nature of cosmic rays. |