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Radiation Experiment; Alpha, Beta and gamma particles

Name:

Instructor:

Affiliation:

Course:

Date:
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Introduction:

Radiations are one of the most researched areas by scientists. That is due to the wide range

of applications that the types of radiations contain. A radiation is defined as energy transfer

through a material or space in waves form. Radiation waves occur in different forms namely

electromagnetic waves that consist of radio waves and x-rays, mechanical oscillations composed

mainly of sound waves. Radiations are characterized with their frequencies and wavelengths

(Martin et al., 1970)6. Themain types of radiation are three which include; Beta particles, alpha

particles, and gamma particles.T h e a b o v e subatomic particles are ej ec te d by very fast moving

atoms. O f t h e t h r e e , a lpha particles are the heaviest and are composed of two neutrons and

protons respectively. Furthermore, due to variation in weights of particle, the ability of particles to

penetrate matter varies accordingly1. The relationship between the weight of a particle and its

penetrating power is indirect in proportion. Therefore, the heavier the particle the less its

penetrating power and vice versa. This is due to loss of energy by the heavy ration particle during

its travel to the target media. As result alpha particles have the least penetrating power followed by

beta particles. Gamma has the highest penetrating power and least weight. The other important is

note is the charges of the radiation particles. Alpha charges are positively charged while beta

particles are negatively charged. Gamma particles do not have any charge thus not deflected by

electromagnetic plate (Lilley, 2001)151. Alpha particles are deflected of the negative side of

electromagnetic plate while beta particles are deflected on the positively charged side.

Aim:

The a i m o f t h e experiment is to determine the radiation range o f t h e d i f f e r e n t

t y p e s o f r a d i a t i o n s u c h a s Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The experiment will aid

scientists in understanding range of the different types of radiation namely alpha, beta and

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gamma. The range will be determined using Geiger counter.The knowledge from the

experiment will be vital in improving the various applications of rations such as medical

uses including medical imaging, cancer treatment and others.

This experiment was performed at optimum Geiger counter operating voltage to

measure ration range of alpha, beta particles and gamma rays. The results of the experiment

indicated that beta ray has higher range as compared to than alpha and gamma. Due to errors

that may occur in the experiment in relation to beta radiation, it is advisable to use a very

thin aluminium sheet of material minimise errors (Gessner, 1930)2072. During the

experiment, a relatively thicker sheet was used. However, dead count correction indicated

accuracy of the readings.

Equipments:

Geiger counter and control unit

Lead bricks and aluminium sheets

Tweezers

Electronic digital Veinier calliper

Three radiation sources for Alpha, Beta and Gamma

2
http://books.google.co.ke/books?
id=t2MNAQAAMAAJ&q=The+luminescence+of+zinc+sulphide+under+the+action+of+alpha,
+beta+and+gamma+rays.&dq=The+luminescence+of+zinc+sulphide+under+the+action+of+alpha,
+beta+and+gamma+rays.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vAuGU4vEFIHb7Aa2uYHwBg&redir_esc=y
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Procedures:

1) The experiment commenced with switching one of the Geiger counters and it

was given approximately 3 minutes to warm up. The radiation sources

241 90
selected for the experiment were: Alpha Am, beta Sr and

137
Gamma Ce.

241
2) The Alpha Am was positioned in the holder just below the end of Geiger

counter holder to provide the first reading.100 seconds were counted after placing

241
Alpha Am before a reading was taken.

3) The distance between the source and Geiger tube was noted as zero. However, the

true distances from the source to the tube windows not exactly zero but due to ease of

comparison it was convenient to make that assumption.

4) After taking the readings at zero distance, a distance of 10mm was measured and

the source was placed into the slot and 100 seconds were counted once more

before the reading..

5) The above procedure was repeated with the source moved away at intervals of

10 mm for a distance adding up to 90 mm, and the radiation count readings

taken after 100 seconds for each source positioned.

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90 137
6) The same procedure and steps were used for beta Sr and Gamma Cs respectively.
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Table1: Geigercounter results recorded for each type of radiation source:

ALPHA BETA GAMMA

Count Count Count

Distance Counts rate Counts rate Counts rate

In mm

10 3524 31 41987 390 129976 1340

20 143 0 25199 232 87251 845

30 109 0 16045 147 59362 559

40 123 0 11052 96 42018 442

50 112 1 8128 95 31112 322

60 110 1 6479 58 23959 244

70 122 0 5166 49 18842 171

80 100 2 4412 49 15210 147

90 127 1 3697 30 12340 117

Table1: Radiation range of Alpha, Beta and Gamma sources.

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Manipulation and discussion of Results

The graph shows a plot of Geigercounter resultsforeachsource:

Radiati on Range
12

10

8
Radiaton Range

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Distance in cm

Distance ALPHA BETA GAMMA

Figure1: Radiation range of Alpha, Beta and Gamma sources.

EXPLAINATION

From the results Alpha particles released from each source have the same energy, hence

travel in linear manner.The results also indicate that they are moving at a very a slow speed and are

less penetrating. That behaviour can be explained by their heavy weight property (Tsoulfanidis,

2011). It is also important to note that alpha particles dislodged from the same source will have

same range.From the graph drawn above it indicates alpha particles travelled approximately 10mm

in air and the remaining portion during drop down.The uncertainty can be computed using the

square root of the count.

The results also indicated that Beta particles released from the source had low mass, high

speed, and a range of dissimilar energy levels. Consequently, their penetrating ability was varying
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from each other and thus their travel paths were meandering. Comparatively, as shown from the

graph, the range of beta particle is longer than that of alpha particlesbecause it has not stopped. Just

like Alpha particle, beta uncertainly can be computed using square root of the count.

The origin of gamma rays is at the nucleus and as a result hashigh-energy levels with high

penetrating power in comparison to alpha. The range of Gamma rays is relatively long,

therefore,will need a solid or medium with high atomic number to halt them (Törnkvist, 1968)37.

The relationship between range and distance is exponential for gamma ray although it is not as

sharp and steep as beta radiation range. The range has an exponential relationship however it is not

as sharp as the beta radiation range. Similarly, it does uncertainly can be computed using the square

root of the count.

Table 2: Radiation range ratio

ALPHA BETA GAMMA

Distance R=N/NO R=N/NO R=N/NO

In mm

10 1 1 1

20 0.035 0.560 0.671

30 0.022 0.382 0.457

40 0.024 0.262 0.323

50 0.018 0.192 0.239

60 0.014 0.153 0.184

70 0.015 0.121 0.144

80 0.005 0.103 0.116

90 0.011 0.086 0.094

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N
The following relationship was used in calculation of detection efficiency: R =
Nᴏ

Where R refers count rate ratio, N refers to the count rate when source to detector distance is non-

zero (d≠ 0) and Nₒ is the count rate when source to detector distance is equal to zero (d = 0)(Lilley,

2001)151. Expansively, uncertainty for the ratio will be given by the formula:

¿
ΔR = ¿ ¿ + ΔNᴏ ¿ Nᴏ¿ ¿ x R

Figure 2: Graph of Radiation range ratio for the different types of radiation.

Radiati on Range Rati o

1.2

1
Range of Radiation

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Distance in mm

ALPHA BETA GAMMA

Assignment solution

1. From the graphical plot of the data it is found that alpha and beta show a

definite rang in air where as gamma does not. Explanation of why it is so.
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Beta and alpha rations are charged particles while gamma radiation has no charge. Beta is

negatively charged while Alpha particle is positively changed, therefore, they are affected by

environmental conditions. In fact, alpha has the highest ionizing power(Lilley, 2001)165.

Therefore, the main reasons why gamma rays do not indicate a definite range in air are: firstly, the

environment does not affect them and secondly, they have high energy photons that are not

tempered or attenuated in air. That explains why gamma particles have large range.

2.Show decay schemes for radioactive nuclei which illustrate:3

1) αAlphaDecay:

Uranium-238

238 234 4
U92-----> U90+2 He

2) β-Decay

239 239 0
92U --> 93Np+ -1B

11Na2 1.821 MeV

2
iii) β+Decay
ec +

1.277 MeV
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22 22
11Na→ 10Ne+e++ ve

iv)eElectronCapture

18 18 +
9F→ 8O+e +ve

2. FromthedecayschemeofRadium,

i) Work out the energy of the emitted gamma radiation.

Theenergyoftheemittedgammaradiation

226 222 4
88Ra→ 86 Rn+ 2He

Eϒ=E–Eα

Eϒ = 4.78–4.60=0.18MeV

ii) Estimate how much energy is released when 226Ra decays to 222Rn.
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Energy= (4.78×(
94.5
100
) ¿+( 4.60 ×( )
5.5
100
)=¿4.76MeV

Conclusion:

The experiment has succeeded in showing the radiation ranges of the various types of ration

namely alpha particle, beta particle and gamma particle. The specific findings found for each

particle are as follows; first alpha radiation has a short range and can only extend over a short a

distance. Secondly, beta particle has a high radiation range and can extend over several centimeters

of air. Thirdly, gamma ray has the highest radiation range of all the ration types and can extend over

hundreds of meters(Gessner, 1930)36). Finally, the range of alpha, beta and gamma radiations

depends on the energy of the source.

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Bibliography

Gessner, George Samuel. 1930. The luminescence of zinc sulphide under the action of alpha, beta

and gamma rays.http://books.google.co.ke/books?

id=t2MNAQAAMAAJ&q=The+luminescence+of+zinc+sulphide+under+the+action+of+alp

ha,

+beta+and+gamma+rays.&dq=The+luminescence+of+zinc+sulphide+under+the+action+of

+alpha,

+beta+and+gamma+rays.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vAuGU4vEFIHb7Aa2uYHwBg&redir_esc=y

Lilley, J. S. 2001. Nuclear physics: principles and applications.Chichester: J. Wiley.

Martin, Murray John, and P. H. Blichert-Toft.1970. Radioactive atoms; Auger-electron, [alpha]-,

[beta]-, [gamma]-, and X-ray data [by] M. J. Martin and P. H. Blichert-Toft.[New York]:

Academic Press.

Törnkvist, Sören. 1968. [Alpha]-, [beta]-, and [gamma]-spectroscopy.Studies of some nuclear

properties and decay modes of radioactive nuclei.Uppsala: Universitetet.

Tsoulfanidis, Nicholas, and Sheldon Landsberger.2011. Measurement and detection of radiation.

Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press

Siegbahn, K. 1979. Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy.Burlington: Elsevier Science.

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