Definition

 Radiation is energy transmission in the form of wave

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 All the radiations that transmit energy in form of particles
are ionizing radiations. Examples are alpha and beta
radiations.
 What differentiate non-ionizing and ionizing radiations is
the energy they carry.
 Ionizing radiations are particles or waves that carry enough
energy to ionize atom (i.e. to remove electrons from atom).
 One can, therefore, state that non-ionizing radiations are
particles or waves that carry energy that is insufficient
ionize atom (i.e. to remove electrons from atom).
 This course is about IONIZING RADIATIONS.

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Ionizing Radiations
 Ionizing radiations can be categorized into two: directly
ionizing radiations and indirectly ionizing radiations.
 Directly ionizing radiations
* Electrically charged.
* As charged particle passes atoms, rips electrons away,
leaving ionized atoms.
* Continuously lose energy (slow down) as it moves
through matter.
* Definite range (no particles go past some fixed depth).
Examples are alpha-particle, beta-particle, positron
and proton.

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 Indirectly ionizing radiations
* Electrically neutral.
* Pass through matter producing charged secondary which ionize
the matter.
* Attenuated with depth but no definite range
Examples are gamma - radiation, x-ray and neutron.
Questions
1. In a neutral atom, what is the difference between number of
protons and number of electrons?
2. What is the difference between the number of protons and
electrons in Na+? If the difference is not zero, which of proton or
neutron is more?
3. What is the difference between the number of protons and
electrons in Cl-? If the difference is not zero, which of proton or
neutron is more?

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Ionization and Excitation

Energy

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The ability to ionize is the main reason why
 (a) radiations are useful for the different purposes
* Medical, Agriculture, Material analysis and Research.
 (b) radiations cause risks
* Ionization causes chemical reactions.
* Reactions in cell interfere with metabolism.
* Reactions in DNA interfere with genetics.
 (c) radiations can be detected
* Humans cannot directly detect radiations.
* Radiation detections instruments measure ionization.
* Ionization produces electric charge. Electric charge is
measured.
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Radioactivity
 Radioactivity is the process in which nuclei of unstable
atoms spontaneously disintegrate into another atom
by the ejection of alpha ()-or beta ()– particle
(sometimes accompanied by gamma ()radiation).
 Apart from these three, there are other radiations
including x-ray, neutron and proton.
 Any atom/nuclide that emit radiation is called
radioactive atom/nuclide (or radioisotope).

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Characteristics of the radiations
Property Radiation
 – particle  – particle  radiation
Nature and value Positive and Negative and Uncharged
of charge double of the equal to the (Neutral)
charge of the charge of
proton. electron.
Nature of particle Doubly ionized Electron (or) Electromagnetic
helium atom (2 positron waves
protons and 2
neutrons)
Mass Four times the Equal to the mass Massless
mass of the of electron
proton
Penetrating Power 1 100 10000
Ionizing Power 100000 100 1
Velocity Less than the Approximately
velocity of light equal to the velocity of light
velocity of light
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Radionuclide decay
 This is the emission of radiations by unstable atoms.
 -decay
 The nucleus emits an -particle (He-4). Example: Ra-226.
226 222 4
88𝑅𝑎 → 86𝑅𝑛 + 2𝛼
 -decay
 Atoms with more neutrons than protons tends to decay by -particle
emission. Example:I-131.
131 131 0
53𝐼 → 54𝑋𝑒 + −1𝛽 + 𝜐
 𝜐 = neutrino
 Too many protons results in +-decay or electron capture (EC).
Example: I-125.
125 125 0
53𝐼 → 52𝑇𝑒 + +1𝛽 + 𝜐
𝜐= neutrino
Use periodic table (example on next slide) to determine the daughter
nucleus.
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Production of x-rays
 X-rays are produced when electrons are accelerated and then
directed onto a matter (target).
 The above statement shows that a device that will produce X-rays
must, among others, have the following:
* A material where electrons can be liberated.
* A means of stimulating electrons from the material.
* A means of accelerating the released electrons
towards the target.
* A component that will focus the electrons towards
the target.
* The target material.
 The device in which X-rays are produced is referred to as X-ray
tube.
 A typical X-ray tube indicating all the above stated components
is shown in Figure 1:
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 Figure 1

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Types of X-rays Produced
 There are two types of X-rays that are produced when electrons from the
filament strike the anode. These are
(1) Bremsstrahlung and
(2) Characteristic X-rays
Bremsstrahlung X-rays
 When the accelerated electrons strike the target and interact with the target
electrons, the kinetic energy of most of them are converted to heat.
 Only a small fraction of the accelerated electrons comes near an atomic nucleus
of the target.
 The positive charge of the atomic nucleus attracts the electrons which come
near it, therefore reduce their speed and change their direction.
 The reduction in speed is synonymous to loss of kinetic energy, which is
emitted as an x-ray photon of equal energy. X-rays emitted as a result of
deceleration of accelerated electrons by target nucleus are referred to as
Bremsstrahlung x-rays.

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 Characteristic X-rays
 Sometimes, depending on the target material and the applied tube voltage, in addition to
the continuous bremsstrahlung x-ray spectrum, discrete x-ray energy peaks may be
present.
 The discrete x-ray energy peaks are due to characteristic x-rays.
 A characteristic x-ray is produced when an electron striking the target, instead of getting
near the nucleus to produce bremsstrahlung x-ray, collide with an electron on an atomic
shell of the target atom and has sufficient energy to remove the electron.
 The atomic shells of an atom are usually labeled as K-shell, L-shell, M-shell, etc. The
closest to the nucleus is K-shell and has the largest binding energy. The farther away a
shell is from the nucleus the smaller the binding energy.
 Electron can be knockout from any of the shell and when this happen a vacant electron
space exist on that shell. An electron from an outer shell with less binding energy will
immediately transition to fill the vacancy.
 As a result of this transition, a characteristic x-ray will be emitted, the energy of which is
the difference in the binding energies of the shells where the vacancy exist and the one
from where the electron that fills the vacancy come from (see Figure 4).

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Sources of Radiations
 There are two sources: Natural and Artificial sources.
Natural Sources of Radioisotopes
 There are 4 categories of natural radiation (also called background radiation) that
affect mankind:
* Cosmic Radiation
* Terrestrial Radiation
* Radioactive material inside the human body
* Radon
Cosmic Radiations
 They reach the earth from space and from the sun.

 The primary cosmic radiation that impinges on the earth consists of Protons
(87%), alpha particles (11%), heavy ions (1%) and electrons (1%).
 Secondary cosmic radiation (electrons, gamma rays, neutrons, etc) are
produced from interaction of primary ones with atomic nuclei in the
atmosphere.
 The interaction also produces radionuclides (e.g. C-14) that diffuse to lower
atmosphere and are incorporated in water and living matter, and enter our
bodies via food and water.
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Terrestrial radiations
 They are external radiation that occur naturally in the earth’s crust and other
materials on earth.
 Among these are the primordial elements 238U, 232Th and 40K which are
radioactive with half-lives comparable with the age of the earth.
 They therefore still exist in small amounts in the earth, soil and rocks. Both
238U and 232Th have long decay series with members (226Ra, 222Rn, 214Bi etc.), all
of which are radioactive.
Radioisotopes in human body
 Through Inhalation and Ingestion, our bodies incorporate naturally occurring
radionuclides from two sources:

* Primordial radionuclides and their decay products

Radon
 Radon is a gas emanating from the earth’s crust and building materials.

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Artificial sources of radiations
 X-ray machines: These are manufactured for
production of x-rays
 Artificial Radioisotopes: Produced by bombarding
stable isotopes
Examples are 192Ir and 60Co - artificial
radionuclides produced in a nuclear reactor.
59Co + 1n  60Co and 191Ir + 1n  192 Ir
These are gamma radiation emitters most
suitable for industrial radiography
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