Siemens Healthcare

Training Center Erlangen

Basic nuclear physics

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Radiation

Radiation (from greek: radius)

is a process in which energetic
particles or waves travel through
a medium or space.

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Radiation – Electromagnetic Spectrum

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The atomic model (Niels Bohr)

atomic shell atomic core

electron proton neutron

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Naming of elements

A = protons + neutrons (atomic mass)

proton neutron Z = protons (atomic number)

A 3 60
element e.g.: H or Co
Z 1 27

short form: H3 Co 60
Tritium Cobalt

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Nuclides - atomic configurations

Isotopes

6C
12
6C
• same atomic number but different 13

atomic mass number

Isobars
• same atomic mass number but
7N
17
8O
17
different atomic number
Isotone
• same number of neutrons but different
6C
13
7N
14
number of protons
Isomers

43Tc
• same atomic number and atomic 99
43Tc
99m

mass number (but different energy

state)
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 Nuclide Map

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Nuclides and stability

ents
m
ele
number of protons

b le
st a

number of neutrons

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Alpha decay

238 4 234
U (Uranium) He (Helium) Th (Thorium)
92 2 90

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Beta decay

antineutrino

neutron proton

electron

14 14
C (Carbon) N (Nitrogen)
6 7

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Beta + / Positron decay

neutrino

proton neutron

positron

18 18
F (Fluorine) O (Oxygen)
9 8

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Radioactive decay types on nuclide chart

beta
decay

alpha
beta+ decay / decay
electron capture
protons

neutrons

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Isomeric transition

photon

99m 99
Tc (Technetium Tc (Technetium
43 metastable) 43 stable)

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Radioactivity - Terms

Radioactivity
• The emission of particles
and energy by atoms to become stable.
Radioactive disintegration/decay
• The nucleus spontaneously emits
particles and energy and transforms
itself into another atom.
Radioisotope / Radionuclide
• Any nuclide that undergoes the
described process.

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More terms: activity / half life time

1200

1000
0,693t

800
A(t)  A0  et  A0  e T
activity

600 λ: decay constant

400

200

0
0 T 2T 3T 4T 5T
time

 activity A: number of disintegrations per second

 unit of activity: Becquerel (Bq)
 after one half life time T the activity is halved
 half life time is inverse proportional to decay constant
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Half life time of common PET isotopes

Radioisotope Half life Branching ratio

18F 110 min 0,97

11C 20 min 1,0
13N 10 min 1,0
15O 2 min 1,0
82Rb 76 sec 0,955
68Ge 270 days 0,89

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Physical effects of radiation - Ionisation

+ + + +
alpha particles
+ + + + + high
ionisation
neutron + +
+ + +
electron +
+
low
gamma photon + ionisation
+

x ray photon +
+
+ Ion

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Absorption - principle

excited state
E1

electron

Eabsorbed

E0

ground state
incoming
photon

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Emission - principle

excited state
E1

electron

Eemitted

E0

ground state
emitted
photon

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Interactions of photons with matter –
Compton Scattering

e-
from
outer
shell scattered photon
• reduced energy
• changed direction

incoming photon

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Interactions of photons with matter –
Photo Absorption

e-
from
inner
shell

incoming photon
• totally absorbed fluorescence photon
• discrete energy

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Which process dominates?

atomic number Z

photo absorption pair formation

dominates dominates

compton scattering
dominates

gamma energy

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