INTERACTIONS OF

RADIATION WITH MATTER

We have focused in previous lectures on the source of radiation
and the types of radiation. We are now able to consider what
happens when this radiation interacts with matter (mechanisms of
energy transfer and its effects on the physical-chemical- and
biological level)

OBJECTIVES
 Our main reason for doing this is to find out what happens to the
radiation as it passes through matter and to set ourselves up for
considering how it interacts with living tissue and understand the
chain of events leading to radiation injury. This knowledge also
forms the bases of radiation therapy and diagnostic radiology.

OBJECTIVES
Also, Since all radiation detectors are made from some form of
matter it is useful to first know how radiation interacts so that we
can exploit the effects in the design of such detectors and know
how it works.

OBJECTIVES
Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation is radiation that has

sufficient energy to remove electrons
from atoms, creating ions.

Ionizing radiation can be classified into

two groups: photons (gamma and X-rays)
and particles (alpha, beta, and neutrons (
A -Basic Concepts Of Interaction of
photons with matter

Three possible occurrences when x or

gamma photons in the primary beam
pass through matter:
◼ No interaction at all
 Known as transmission
◼ Absorption
◼ Scatter
 The latter two are methods of attenuation
Attenuation Of An X-Ray Photon
The Three main Interactions Of X
and Gamma Rays With Matter

Photoelectric effect
◼ Very important in diagnostic radiology

Compton scatter
◼ Very important in diagnostic radiology

Pair production
◼ Very important in therapeutic & diagnostic
radiology
Photoelectric Effect
All of the energy of the incoming photon is
totally transferred to the atom
◼ Following interaction, the photon ceases to exist
The incoming photon interacts with an orbital
electron in an inner shell – usually K
The orbital electron is dislodged
To dislodge the electron, the energy of the
incoming photon must be equal to, or greater
than the electron’s energy
Photoelectric Effect
The incoming photon gives up all its energy,
and ceases to exist
The ejected electron is now a photoelectron
This photoelectron now contains the energy
of the incoming photon minus the binding
energy of the electron shell
This photoelectron can interact with other
atoms until all its energy is spent
Photoelectric Effect
A vacancy now exists in the inner shell
To fill this gap, an electron from an outer
shell drops down to fill the gap
Once the gap is filled, the electron releases
its energy in the form of a characteristic
photon
This process continues, with each electron
emitting characteristic photons, until the
atom is stable
The characteristic photon produces relatively
low energies and is generally absorbed in
tissue
Photoelectric absorption (I-131)
The Byproducts of the
Photoelectric Effect
Photoelectrons
Characteristic photons
The Probability of Occurrence
Depends on the following:
◼ The energy of the incident photon(E)
◼ The atomic number of the irradiated object(Z)
◼ It increases as the photon energy decreases, and
the atomic number of the irradiated object
increases
◼ The probability of photoelectric absorption, is
roughly proportional to (Z/E)3
◼ This type of interaction is prevalent in the
diagnostic keV range – 30 - 150
What Does This All Mean?
Bones are more likely to absorb
radiation(Higher Z)
◼ This is why they appear white on the film
Soft tissue allows more radiation to pass
through than bone (Lower Z)
◼ These structures will appear gray on the film
Air-containing structures allow more radiation
to pass through
◼ These structures will appear black on the film
Compton Scattering
An incoming photon is partially absorbed in
an outer shell electron
The electron absorbs enough energy to break
the binding energy, and is ejected
The ejected electron is now a Compton
electron
Not much energy is needed to eject an
electron from an outer shell
The incoming photon, continues a different
path with less energy as scattered radiation
Byproducts Of Compton
Scatter
Compton scattered electron
◼ Possesses kinetic energy and is capable of ionizing
atoms
◼ Finally recombines with an atom that has an
electron deficiency
Scattered x-ray photon with lower energy
◼ Continues its way, but in a different direction
◼ It can interact with other atoms, either by
photoelectric or Compton scattering
◼ It may emerge from the patient as scatter
Probability Of Compton
Scatter Occurring
Increases as the incoming photon energy
increases up to certain limit then decreases
as the photon energy increases.
Independent on Z of the absorber.
The Compton process is most important for
energy absorption for soft tissues in the
range from 100 keV to 2MeV.
Pair Production
Incoming photon must have an energy of at
least 1.02 MeV
This process is a conversion of energy into
matter and then matter back into energy
Two electrons are produced in this interaction
Pair Production
An incoming photon of 1.02 MeV or greater
interacts with the nucleus of an atom
The incoming photon disappears
The transformation of energy results in the
formation of two particles
Negatron
◼ Possesses negative charge
Positron
◼ Possesses a positive charge
Pair Production
Positrons
Considered antimatter
Do not exist freely in nature
Cannot exist near matter
Will interact with the first electron they encounter
An electron and the positron destroy each other
during interaction
◼ Known as the annihilation reaction
This converts matter back into energy
Both the positron and electron disappear
Two gamma photons are released with an energy
of .51 MeV
Pair Production
The produced gamma photons may
interact with matter through pair
production or Compton scatter
Pair production is used for positron
emission tomography, a nuclear
medicine imaging procedure
It is also used in radiation therapy
Pair production probability

· Increases with
· Increases with
atomic number
increasing
approximately as
photon energy
Z2
Z of absorber
Photoelectric effect
dominant
Pair production
dominant

Compton effect
dominant

0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Photon Energy, in Mev
B -Interactions Of Particulate
Radiation With Matter
Alpha particles ionize by attracting an
electron from an atom
Beta particles ionize by repelling an
electron from an atom
B -Interactions Of Particulate
Radiation With Matter
Particle interactions
Energetic charged particles interact
with matter by electrical forces and
lose kinetic energy via:
◼ Excitation

◼ Ionization

◼ Radiative losses
Charged Particle Tracks
Electrons follow tortuous paths in matter
as the result of multiple scattering events
• Ionization track is sparse and nonuniform

Larger mass of heavy charged particle

results in dense and usually linear
ionization track

Path length is actual distance particle

travels; range is actual depth of
penetration in matter
Path lengths vs. ranges
Linear Energy Transfer

Amount of energy deposited per unit path length is called the

linear energy transfer (LET)

Expressed in units of eV/cm

LET of a charged particle is proportional to the square of the

charge and inversely proportional to its kinetic energy(velocity)

High LET radiations (alpha particles, protons, etc.) are more

damaging to tissue than low LET radiations (electrons, gamma
and x-rays)
Specific Ionization
Number of primary and secondary ion
pairs produced per unit length of
charged particle’s path is called specific
ionization
◼ Expressed in ion pairs (IP)/mm
Increases with electrical charge of
particle
Decreases with increase incident
particle velocity
 Bremsstrahlung(Radiative losses)

Probability of bremsstrahlung production per

atom is proportional to the square of Z of the
absorber

Energy emission via bremsstrahlung varies

inversely with the square of the mass of the
incident particle (Z/M)2
• Protons and alpha particles produce less than one-
millionth the amount of bremsstrahlung radiation as
electrons of the same energy
Bremsstrahlung
Question 1
What are the factors affecting The
Probability of Occurrence of :
Photoelectric effect
Compton scattering
Pair production
Bremsstrahlung
Question 2
What are the byproducts of :
Photoelectric effect
Compton scattering
Pair production
Bremsstrahlung
Question 3
Give the scientific reason for:
Bones appear more clear than soft
tissues in the radiographic film?
Lead is used for sheading gamma
emitters?
Plastic is preferred than lead for
sheading Beta emitters?