lecture 9 Flashcards
E/M radiation for photon E
> 100 ev starts in UV
What is the absorbed dose
the measure of the amount of energy from ionizing radiation deposited in a mass of some material (delta E/delta M)
Does the biological effect depend only on dose
No, it is dependent on the nature of radiation
Old unit of Absorbed dose
RAD (radiation absorbed dose) = 100 ergs/g
1 erg=10^-7 J
SI unit for absorbed dose
Gy (Gray)=1J/kg=10^7 erg/1000g=10000erg/g=100rad
For what type of radiation Gy is used
all types of radiation and does not describe the biological effects (health effects depend on how radiation interacts with material on micro-level)
Absorbed dose: is it a macroscopic concept
yes, it is not related to microdosimetry
Is energy delivered by radiation is continuous and uniform?
No, it is delivered not uniformly through the entire mass
Why do we care about secondary electrons?
They produce additional ionization and excitation until the energies fall below the threshold for further interaction
What paradox illustrated irradiation of viruses
both sensitive and highly resistant, some of them were killed at low dose. On average they tolerated very large doses: actually receiving a dose is not equal to the dose delivered, bioeffects can be very different at the same dose. Random statistical hit.
How many J in ev
1.6*10^(-19)
Absorbed energy depends on
number of particles traversing the mass and energy that they deposit in tissue
Main problems with the absorbed dose concept
neglects the density of energy absorbed per unit mass in a point in the medium,
on a small scale (micrometer) the energy distribution is non-uniform,
energy is localized near tracks,
E transfer takes place in discrete amounts,
statistical quantity gives a global value (large enough that statistical fluctuations are not significant)
The biological effect is related to the dose
deposition at micro-level (cell, DNA), depends on nature nad E of particles
Can we use exposure for neutrons?
No, only for gamma and x-rays.
What affects the absorbed dose?
type and E of Radiation, depth and elementary composition of the material.