Interaction of Radiation with Matter

Kristine Marie Romallosa

Radiation Protection Services
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
What is Radiation?
 What is Radiation?
Radiation is the process of
emitting energy through a
medium or space in the form
of waves or particles
 WAVES PARTICLES

What is Radiation?
Radiation is the process of emitting energy through a medium or space in the form
of waves or particles
 WAVES PARTICLES

NON-IONISING IONISING

What is Radiation?
Radiation is the process of emitting energy through a medium or space in the form
of waves or particles
Radiation is the process of emitting energy
through a medium or space in the form of
waves or particles

What is Radiation?
WAVES PARTICLES

NON-IONISING IONISING
Types of Ionizing Radiation

• Alpha particles
• Beta particles
• Gamma rays
• X-rays
• Neutrons
 Sources of Ionising Radiation
• Radioactive materials
(e.g. Cs-137, Ir-192)
– Radioactive materials continuously emit
radiation
– Cannot be turned OFF but can be placed
in containers

• Radiation emitting devices or

equipment (e.g. X-ray machines)
– Machines can be turned ON and OFF
– When turned OFF, no radiation is
emitted
Interaction of
radiation with matter
 Why study the interactions?
• To understand the principles upon which
detection is based
• To provide radiation protection
• To determine proper shielding requirements
Radiation is the process of emitting
energy through a medium or
space in the form of waves or
particles
Types of energy transfer

• Ionization
• Excitation
 IONIZATION
• A process which results
in the removal of an
electron (negative e-
charge) from an
electrically neutral atom
or molecule

• Whenever this happens it

creates an ion pair made
up of the e- and the
positive
atom or molecule
+ atom
 EXCITATION
• Inner electron of an atom
receives enough energy to
raise it to a higher energy level
but not enough to leave the
atom completely

• Some of the x-ray’s energy are

transferred to the target
material leaving it in an
excited (or more energetic)
state

• The atom remains electrically Neutral atom

neutral
How radiation interacts with matter

absorption

scattering

transmission

energy deposition
 How radiation interacts with matter
When photons interact with
matter three things can occur. The
photon may be: absorption

 Transmitted through scattering

the material unaffected transmission
 Scattered in a different
direction from that
traveled by the incident
photon
 Absorbed by the energy deposition
material such that no
photon emerges
Interaction of Radiation w/ Matter
• Photoelectric effect
• Compton scattering
• Pair production
• Annihilation
• Bremsstrahlung effect
 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
- a photon (x or of relatively low energy transfer all its energy
to a tightly bound e- in an inner shell. The e- is then ejected
from the parent atom.

Negative ion

Negative ion

Neutral atom Positive ion

Positive ion
 COMPTON SCATTERING

Scattered photon
An elastic collision between a photon and an e- in
which only part of the photon energy is transferred
to the e-.

negative ion
Negative ion

Neutral atom positive ion

Positive ion
 PAIR PRODUCTION

When a photon ( w/ E ≥ 1.022 MeV) electron

passes close to a high-Z nucleus, the photon
interacts w/ the Coulomb field of the
nucleus, gets absorbed, and a positron-e- h= 0.51MeV
pair each having some K.E. is produced.

 the positron eventually electron

combines w/ an e- 

positron
The 2 particles annihilate each
other converting mass back to E
thus producing two 0.51 MeV -
rays travelling in opposite
direction
h= 0.51MeV
 BREMSSTRAHLUNG
If an incoming e- gets close to the
nucleus of a target atom, the strong
electric field of the nucleus will
attract the e-, thus changing => bremsstrahlung
direction and speed of the e-.

The e- looses energy which will

be emitted as an x-ray photon. 
X-rays originating from this
process are called
Bremsstrahlung.
 In summary..
• The two basic types of energy transfer that may
occur when radiation interacts with matter are by
ionization and excitation
• When radiation interact w/ matter, they maybe
transmitted, absorbed or scattered.
• Radiation interact with matter by photoelectric effect,
compton scattering and pair production. However,
pair production is impossible unless the incident
radiation energy is greater than1.02 MeV.
THANK
YOU!