Interaction of Ionizing Radiation

with Matter

Isabel A. Elona, MSc

Health Physicist III
DOH Hospital
 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 charge) from an e-
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

is transferred to the target
material leaving it in an
excited (or more energetic)
state
Neutral atom
• The atom remains
electrically 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 the scattering

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
• Rayleigh scattering
• Photoelectric effect
• Compton scattering
• Pair production
• Annihilation
 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
- a photon (x or g) 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

An elastic collision between a photon and an e- in Scattered photon

which only part of the photon energy is
transferred to the e-.

negative ion
Negative ion

Neutral atom positive ion

Positive ion
 PAIR PRODUCTION and ANNIHILATION

When a g-photon ( w/ E ≥ 1.022 electron

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

 the positron eventually

combines w/ an e- r electron
r
positron
The 2 particles annihilate each
other converting mass back to E
thus producing two 0.51 MeV g-
rays travelling in opposite
direction
h = 0.51MeV
What happens to the vacancy
(electron hole) created when the
electron absorbs enough energy
to be able to escape from the atom?
• Fluorescent x-rays are produced.
When the hole is in the K shell,
an electron from the L- shell falls into
the K-shell hole. Both shells are at different
energy levels. The difference in energies is
emitted as K fluorescent x-rays. Then an electron
from the M-shell falls into the L-shell hole and L
fluorescent x-rays are emitted.
 Fluorescent X-rays
• These are used in industry and research. Atoms
in the sample irradiated by x-rays ( from the x-
ray tube) emit x-rays called “fluorescent x-rays”
which are unique and characteristic of the
element which composes the sample. The
wavelength of the fluorescent x-rays indicates
which element is in the sample.
This is the phenomenon used in x-ray fluorescence
spectrometers.
THANK YOU!