In the non-relativistic case, where the relative velocities of the particles are much less than the speed of light, elastic scattering simply means that the total kinetic energy of the system is conserved.
[2] When the incident particle, such as an alpha particle or electron, is diffracted in the Coulomb potential of atoms and molecules, the elastic scattering process is called Rutherford scattering.
This is a major concern with many types of ionizing radiation, including galactic cosmic rays, solar proton events, free neutrons in nuclear weapon design and nuclear reactor design, spaceship design, and the study of the Earth's magnetic field.
Particles can also undergo inelastic scattering and capture due to nuclear reactions.
Light nuclei like deuterium and lithium can combine in nuclear fusion.