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Originally Posted by Normandy6644
lyndonashmore, you are missing Papageno's point. An electron by itself cannot absorb a photon. It just doesn't happen. When electrons are in bound quantum states (i.e., bound to a nucleus) the atom can absorb the photon, causing the electron to "jump" to another state. When it returns to the ground state it emits a photon of equal energy to the original aborbed photon. That is how it works. IG plasma, by definition, is not full of bound electrons but rather free particles. A photon hitting an electron in the IG plasma causes a collision, Compton Scattering. The only way the photon loses energy is if its direction is changed as a result of the collision. There is no absorption or emission taking place.
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Are you in the belief that the whole of space is made up of just electrons? In any plasma one needs a mechanism by which charges are separated otherwise they just recombine. A plasma is in equilibrium when the rate of creation is equal to the rate of recombination. I believe IG plasma is created by cosmic rays (protons) smashing into the nuclei of Hydrogen (protons) this is where you get your plus and minus charges. The point is electrons are not by themselves. In redshift, the same mechanism occurs as that that happens in glass but with recoil. It is not Compton.
Cheers,
lyndon