Electron Energy Distributions Produced by Gamma-Rays

Reproduced with permission from Platts. Platts holds all copyright to this article. For the original version, please refer to the print publication of Nucleonics Vol. 12 No. 10 (now Nucleonics Week).A DETAILED KNOWLEDGE of the number and energies of the electrons set in motion in a material when it is irradiated by a continuous spectrum of X-rays is very useful. Calculations of energy abstracted from the beam and absorbed by the material, and of the ionization produced in a cavity within the material, all depend on such knowledge. Applications of these calculations are described elsewhere. Tables are presented that make it possible to calculate the initial energy distribution of the electrons set in motion in an element of volume by either monoenergetic radiation or continuous spectra. After being set in motion, these electrons of differing energy proceed out of the volume in which they originated and travel through the absorbing material, losing energy at a varying rate, until they are brought to rest. It is useful to be able to determine the electron flux passing through an element of area at any point in the material. From the initial volume distribution, the energy distribution of electrons passing through an element of area is calculated in this article.The authors take pleasure in acknowledging the financial support of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. One of us (J. E. T.) is indebted to the National Research Council of Canada for financial assistance in the form of a bursary