Introduction to Nuclear Engineering

Radiation-matter interaction
(part 1)

Dr. Patrick A Burr p.burr@unsw.edu.au

Dr. Edward G. Obbard e.obbard@unsw.edu.au

 Interaction of Radiation with Materials

Two situations to consider:

• [Today] Where the total irradiation is such that properties of

the material are not degraded, to any significant extent, as a
function of time – materials are being used as shielding.

• [Future class] When the total irradiation is sufficient to bring

about changes to the properties of the materials – radiation
damage/radiation effects.
 a and b decay – a comparison via two examples
226
88 Ra ® 222
86 Rn + 2a
4 137
55 Cs ®137
56 Ba + b -
+u
226 137
88 Ra 55 Cs

b 93.5%
a 4.47 MeV
a 4.60 MeV 5.6%
94.3% b 6.5%

222 g 0.2 MeV

86 Rn g 0.66 MeV
137
56 Ba
a decay showing the two major
b- decay results in anti-neutrino.
events. The a particles have
With three particles of definite
definite energy leading to a
momentum the resulting spectrum
spectrum with discrete energy lines.
is continuous.

In both these cases two paths can occur with different probability – with one path leaving
the decay product in an excited state so that a g is also emitted. For some decays two or
more excited states can occur and in some cases no excited states are seen.
b decay spectrum

Because the b particle is so light, the

nuclear recoil energy is practically
zero. The decay energy is therefore
shared between the b particle and the
anti-neutrino, which is almost
undetectable. The b particle energy
therefore ranges from almost zero up
to an end point of almost the total
decay energy.

Since transitions can occur to excited

states the spectrum can consist of
several components with different end
points.

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A, 28, (1940) 17571

 Particle Radiation: ions and neutrons
Charged ions are slowed down by two processes:
• Electronic stopping, Se, due to the (inelastic) interactions (ionization or excitation)
between electrons in the medium and the ion moving through it
• Nuclear stopping, Sn, is due to ballistic collisions between the particles and the atoms
Both are strongly dependent on particle energy.
nuclear electronic
S(E) = Se(E) + Sn(E)

Al+ in Al
 Particle Radiation in solids: ions and neutrons
At high energies, the radiation particle is slowed down mainly by electronic stopping, and it
moves almost in a straight path. When the radiation particle has slowed down sufficiently,
the elastic collisions (the nuclear stopping) become dominant and the radiation particle can
be deflected considerably.

During any point during transit of the radiation particle, if an atom of the solid receives
significant recoil energy due to its interaction with the radiation particle, it may be displaced
from its position in the solid (leaving a defect behind) and go on to produce a sub-cascade
of further collisions in the solid. These collision cascades are the main cause of damage
production.

When the energies of all atoms in the

solid have fallen below the threshold
displacement energy, the production
of new damage ceases. Some defects
then recombine and annihilate. The
total amount of energy deposited by
the nuclear collisions to atoms in the
solid is called the nuclear deposited
energy.
 Stopping power
• For a given material and and a given radiation type, the stopping power, S,
defines the amount of energy lost (by the radiation), dE, crossing a width dx
of material:
S(E) = –dE/dx

• The speed of a photon is independent of its energy.

• The speed of a particle is entirely dependent on its kinetic energy.

H+ in Al
 Stopping power (in words)

When energetic (fast) particles move through solids, liquids or gases, they ionize the
atoms of the medium as they pass or undergo ballistic interactions. Each encounter
reduces the energy of the radiation particle, so that the radiation particle looses
energy in a piece-wise fashion.

This is quantified by the stopping power, which is the average energy loss of the
particle per unit path length, measured usually in MeV/cm. The stopping power is a
strong function of the particle energy, particle type and it is also a function of the
medium through which it passes. (Linear) Stopping power is a property of the
medium – it is what the medium does to the particle.

Electronic stopping is the slowing down of the radiation particle due to the inelastic
collisions (ionization or excitation) between bound electrons in the medium and the
ion moving through it.

Nuclear stopping is due to the elastic collisions (ballistic) between the radiation
particle and atoms of the medium.
 Stopping power for α
This example shows the 'energy loss per unit path length‘. Because the a particle starts
with a fixed energy, 5.49 MeV, as it travels through the medium (air) it looses energy and
the rate it looses energy changes, because the stopping power of the air is a function of
the energy (residual energy) of the a particle. The density of ionization increases
towards the end of the ‘range’ (i.e. the penetration depth) and reaches the ‘Bragg peak’
just before falling to zero. This is the ‘Bragg curve’.

The range of an a particle of a

specified energy in a medium
other than air is given by the
Bragg-Kleeman equation, so
that if Rm and Ra are the
ranges in the medium and in
air, rm and ra are the densities
of the medium and air and Am
and Aa are the (effective)
Implantation (α/cm3)
atomic weights of the medium
and air:
r
⇢ a Am
Rm = R a
⇢ m Aa
(Note: an equivalent scaling rule applies for b particles but there is no dependence on atomic weights
 Cancer treatment – radiotherapy
Option 1: X-rays

• Many focussed beams of high-

energy X-rays converging on target.

• Each beam produces most damage

at the surface, some damage after
the target.

Option 2 : charged ions cumulative H+

X-rays
• Few beams of charged particles,
usually H+ or C+, with Bragg peak
centered at target.

• Use a degrader wheel between

source and patient to shift brag H+
peak (e.g. rotating wedge).

• Little damage before the Bragg

peak, and zero damage after target.
Using the Bragg-Kleeman equation for stopping power

For example: if the a particles of 241Am have energies of 5.49 MeV and 5.44 MeV.
What is the range of these particles in aluminium?
First we need to know the range of these particles in air.
There is an empirical relationship for the range (in cm) of a particles in air, for a
energy in the range 4–15 MeV.
Ra = (0.005E + 0.285)E3/2

Using the above equation, we find Ra = 4.00 cm and 3.96 cm.

Then using the scaling law Rm = Ra (ra/rm) (Am/Aa)½ knowing that
for air Aa = 14.59 u, ra = 0.00129 g/cm3,

and for aluminium, Am = 26.98 u, rm = 2.17 g/cm3.

Rm = 0.0032 and 0.0032 cm.
Shielding – penetration depth
heavy
ions
α

β–

Skin or Sheet Cement or

Lead glass
paper metal bricks

Penetration depth alpha beta 1MeV gamma

in air cm m km
in H2O 100 µm cm m
in Al µm mm dm
in Pb < µm µm dm-cm
 Remember the Quiz?
You have to hide three source on you body.

You have three sources: You can hide:

Alpha emitter (α) One in you hand

Beta emitter (β–) One in your pocket

Gama emitter (γ) One you can swallow

Which source would you put where?

The aim is to minimize the dose to yourself

You can only have one source in each place
 Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
• Gamma (g) rays are often produced by a nucleus after it has undergone
radioactive decay and has been left in an excited state. This may happen due
to fission in a reactor core (prompt g), decay of a fission product (decay g),
capture of a neutron (activation g) or neutron-neutron scattering interactions.

• Gamma rays are particularly penetrating and therefore shielding has to be thick
to provide effective protection.

• Gamma rays are better absorbed by materials that contain elements with high
atomic numbers and materials with high density (more atoms per cm3 – i.e.
higher n values).

• Gamma rays with higher energy require thicker shielding.

• Typically for nuclear g rays the thickness required to reduce the intensity of the
gamma rays by one half (i.e. the HVL) is 1 cm of lead, 6 cm of concrete or
9 cm of packed dirt.
Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays

In passing through matter, gamma radiation ionizes

via three main processes:

• Photoelectric effect

• Compton scattering

• Pair production
Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
Photoelectric Effect: This describes the case in which a
gamma photon interacts with and transfers its energy to an
atomic electron, ejecting that electron from the atom. The
kinetic energy of the resulting photoelectron, KEphoto electron,
is equal to the energy of the incident gamma photon, Eg,
minus the binding energy, BE, of the electron (anything from
a few eV to more than 100 eV. The photoelectric effect is
the dominant energy transfer mechanism for x-ray and
gamma ray photons with energies below 200 keV, but it is
much less important at higher energies. An electron in a
higher energy orbital can drop down into the lower energy
orbit and the energy emitted as an x-ray.

KEphoto electron = Eg - BE
 Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
Compton Scattering: Also known as incoherent scattering. This is
an interaction in which an incident gamma photon loses enough
energy to an atomic electron to cause its ejection, with the remainder
of the original photon's energy being scattered (emitted) as a new,
lower energy gamma photon with an emission direction different from
that of the incident gamma photon. The probability of Compton
scatter decreases with increasing photon energy. Compton scattering
is the principal absorption mechanism for gamma rays in the
intermediate energy range 100 keV to 10 MeV. Compton scattering is
not strongly dependent of the atomic number of the absorbing
material. The Compton edge is maximum possible energy, E, of a
Compton electron:
E = Eg / (1 + 4Eg)
h
l - l' = (1 - cosq )
me c
 Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
Pair Production: By interaction via the Coulomb force,
in the vicinity of the nucleus, the energy of the incident
photon is spontaneously converted into the mass of an
electron-positron pair. Energy in excess of the equivalent
rest mass of the two particles (1.02 MeV = Eo) appears
as the kinetic energy of the pair and the recoil nucleus.
The positron has a very short lifetime (if immersed in
matter) (about 10-8 seconds). At the end of its range, it
combines with a free electron. The entire mass of these
two particles is then converted into two gamma photons
of 0.51 MeV energy each.
 Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
In passing through matter, gamma radiation ionizes via three
main processes:
5
Z eff
• Photoelectric effect s pe µ where Ei is the incident photon energy
Ei3

Z eff
• Compton scattering sC µ
Ei

• Pair production s pp µ Z eff2 ln(2 Ei ) for (Ei - E0 ) > 0

• So that the total absorption cross-section s T = s pe + s C + s pp

• where Zeff = åi xi Zi Zi being the atomic number of element i

and xi is its corresponding weight % in the material.
Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
Note that spe and sC decrease with
energy, Ei, while spp increases with
energy. Consequently there is a shallow
minimum in sT, which is also a strong
function of Zeff. Also, spe becomes much
absorption cross section

more important for materials that

incorporate elements with higher Z, and
to a lesser extent so does spp.
sC sT
spp

spe

Eo ln (Energy)
Penetration and Shielding: Gamma Rays
The total absorption coefficient of Al (low atomic number 13) for
gamma rays, plotted versus gamma energy, and the contributions
by the three effects. The Compton effect dominates over the
entire energy range.

The total absorption coefficient of Pb

(high atomic number 82). Here, the
photoelectric effect dominates at low
energy, then Compton scattering
between 1 and 5 MeV and above 5
MeV, pair production.
 Variation of gamma ray energy at which
different processes become dominant

Z
100

80 Photoelectric Pair
effect Production
60

40
Compton
effect
20

10-2 10-1 1 10 100

Gamma energy (MeV)

Affect of shielding on a monochromatic g-ray beam
Compton scattering results in a broad spectrum of g-ray with lower energies.
However, the absorption coefficient of g-rays with smaller energies is greater
and so shielding is more effective.
Intensity

Intensity
Eo Energy Eo Energy

Incident g ray spectrum Spectrum of attenuated g ray beam

 Concepts of radiation protection (a preview)

Typically γ radiation is the most penetrative, thus the shielding

requirements are often set by γ dose.
However, α and β cause significant damage if they enter our body,
thus it is important to ensure containment of the source.
Additionally, β particle emit Bremsstrahlung if slowed down by high-Z
materials. If one intends to shield a combined β+γ source, it would be
sensible to have an (thin) inner layer of low-Z material (e.g. Al) to
absorb most of the β followed by a (thick) outer layer of high-Z
material (e.g. Pb or U) to attenuate the γ
Neutrons are even more complex, and for those you need to first
moderate, then absorb.