FRCR PHYSICS REVISION NOTES

1 Radiation physics
Atom structure
Mainly empty space plus nucleus. Nucleus made up of nucleons:
neutrons and protons.
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A = number of nucleons
Z = atomic number (protons) A Z = neutrons

Nuclide species of nucleus characterised by the two numbers Z

and A.
Z constant e.g. Carbon 6, A changes 6 8; more neutrons makes the
nucleus unstable and therefore radioactive; and a radionuclide.
Radionuclide radioactive nuclide
Metastable a radionuclide that exists for a long time in a higher
energy state before faling to ground state e.g. Tc99m
Isomer long lived excited state e.g. Tc99m is an isomer of Tc99
Isotone same number of neutrons, different number of protons
Isotope same number of protons, different number of neutrons
Electrons orbit in shells around the nucleus. Shells start from K, L,
M, N etc out from the centre. The outermost shell is the valence
shell which is concerned with the properties of the element
(chemical, thermal, optical, electrical, and x-ray.) Each shell contains
eight electrons. Metals have one, two or three valence electrons,
one of which is easily detached and accounts for the good
conductivity of metal of heat and electricity.
Ionic crystals equal numbers of positive and negative ions held by
electrostatic attraction in a highly regular 3-D lattice e.g. silver
bromide (Ag+ and Br-) sodium iodide and caesium iodide. An atom
is ionized when one of its electrons has been completely removed;
the detached electron is a negative ion and the remnant atom is a
positive ion, making an ion pair.
Binding energy energy expended in completely removing an
electron from an atom against the attractive force of the positive
nucleus, expressed in electronvolts (eV.) The binding energy
depends on the shell, with shells closer to the nucleus requiring
more energy, and on the element, which increases at the Z

increases. Binding energy is expressed as En where n is the shell (k,

l, m etc.)
Excitability an atom is excited when an electron is raised from one
shell to one further out. This involves expending energy, the atom
as a whole has more energy than normal so is excited. A valence
electron can be raised to one of the unoccupied shells, and when it
falls back, emits a packet of energy or a photon of light.

Electromagnetic radiation
This is the term given to energy travelling across empty space. All
EMR travel within the same velocity as light (c) when in vacuum,
and not much less in air. Speed of light is close to 3 x 108 ms-1.
Different types of EMR are named according to the way they are
produced and their properties. X-rays and gamma rays have
essentially the same properties but differ in their origin.
Quantum theory of EMR can be regarded as having particle like
properties. But rather than being composed of particles, the
radiation is represented as a stream of packets or quanta of energy,
called photons, that travel in straight lines.
Quantum = minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an
interaction
Wave theory of EMR can be regarded as sinusoidally varying
electric and magnetic fields, traveilling with the velocity c in a
vacuum. The electric and magnetic field vectors point at right
angles to each other and to the direction of the travel of the wave.

At any point, the graph of field strength against time is a sine wave.
The peak field strength is called the amplitude (A).
The interval between the successive crests is known as the period
(T) and the distance is known as the wavelength ()
The frequency is the number of crests passing a point in a second
(f=1/T) measured in hertz, one hertz is one oscillation per second.
Wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional to each other:
f=c
E is the electric field.
B (M) is the magnetic field.
The E and B fields are in-phase with each other, reaching maxima
and minima at the same time. A change in one will cause a change
in the other.
As waves cross boundaries of different media, the speed may
change but the frequency remains the same.
The energy is sometimes called radiant energy.
At any one time, the graph of field strength against distance is also
a sine wave.
Electromagnetic spectrum

Wave and quantum theories combined

Photon energy is proportional to the frequency; the constant of
proportionality is Plancks constant (h). E=hf
Frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength, so is photon
energy:
E=1.24/
Blue light
=400nm E = 3eV
X/Gamma rays
=0.1nm E=140keV
Intensity
Total amount of energy per unit area passing through a cross section
per unit time (watts per mm2). Radiation travels in straight lines
called rays that radiate in all directions from a point source. A
collimated set of rays is called a beam. A cross section of a beam at
right angles would show a set number of photos (called the photon
fluescence) and a sum of energies from the individual photos called
the energy fluescence. Photons can have different energies.
Intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude, measured
from the peak of the wave to the axis.
Energy fluence and intensity are not easy to directly measure, so
they are measured indirectly using air kerma (for energy fluence)
and air kerma rate for intensity.
Inverse square law
EMR travels in straight lines. As the beam moves further away from
the source, the area of the beam increases. The area of the beam
is the distance squared. Air kerma is inversely proportional to this.
There must be no scatter or interference of the beam, and it must
be coming from a point source, for the inverse square law to be
true.