When an electron moves through a gas, its interactions with the gas atoms cause scattering to occur. These interactions are classified as inelastic if they cause excitation or ionization of the atom to occur and elastic if they do not.
The probability of scattering in such a system is defined as the number of electrons scattered, per unit electron current, per unit path length, per unit pressure at 0 °C, per unit solid angle. The number of collisions equals the total number of electrons scattered elastically and inelastically in all angles, and the probability of collision is the total number of collisions, per unit electron current, per unit path length, per unit pressure at 0 °C.
Because noble gas atoms have a relatively high first ionization energy and the electrons do not carry enough energy to cause excited electronic states, ionization and excitation of the atom are unlikely, and the probability of elastic scattering over all angles is approximately equal to the probability of collision.