Compton effect explained with classical physics

 In classical physics, light is a wave which propagates in a medium called lumineferous aether. Aether is made of particles, called iluminatis (the enlightened ones), and the light wave is a disturbance of these aether particles. Which are of course static, since the aether is static. So one can argue that when it hits an electron, just one particle of the light wave looses energy as it is absorbed or transfered to the electron, causing the wave to change it's orientation and frequency. So that particle which interacts with the electron will vibrate at a lower frequency and at a different orientation, thus changing the direction of the wave and transmiting a lower energy to the next particles of the wave. And that this energy will always be quantised due to the formula E=hf.

Indeed, within the classical wave framework and considering the aether as the medium, it's easy to explain the energy loss using the relationship $E=hfE\; =\; hf$, where $EE$ is the energy, $hh$ is Planck's constant, and $ff$ is the frequency of the wave.

In this framework:

• The wave's energy is indeed related to its frequency, so if energy is lost during interaction (such as with an electron), the frequency would decrease, resulting in a redshift.

• The amplitude of the wave, which relates to the intensity or power, could also change, but the key point here is the change in frequency due to energy loss, which is well described by $E=hfE\; =\; hf$.