1st Edition
An Introduction to the Passage of Energetic Particles through Matter
Identifying where to access data, extracting a needed subset from available resources, and knowing how to interpret the format in which data are presented can be time-consuming tasks for scientists and engineers. By collecting all of this information and providing a background in physics, An Introduction to the Passage of Energetic Particles through Matter enables specialists and nonspecialists alike to understand and apply the data.
Making modern data more accessible, this book explores the interactions with matter of energetic particles, including photons, electrons, protons, alpha particles, and neutrons. It presents quantities of interest in many applications, such as photon and neutron cross sections, charged particle stopping powers, electron mean ranges, and angular distributions. The book also discusses electron multiple scattering and models for electron mean range against both stopping power and scattering. The author uses numerous graphs throughout the book to illustrate the material and describes the basic physics underlying all processes. The accompanying CD-ROM includes full datasets and large color contour graphs of cross sections, stopping powers, and ranges in all elements at all interesting energies.
Compiling information that is scattered throughout the literature, An Introduction to the Passage of Energetic Particles through Matter provides a comprehensive foundation of particle interactions that is of prime importance to many areas of applied physics and supplies an introduction to the massive, invaluable Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF) library.
Background
Charged vs. Neutral Particles
Terminology
Distribution Function and Flux
Reaction Rates in Planar and Omnidirectional Fluxes
Energy Spectrum and Spectral Fluence
References
PHOTONS
Long Wavelengths
Short Wavelengths
Photon Interactions
Photoelectric Absorption
Coherent Rayleigh Scattering
Compton Scattering
Pair Production
Total Photon Cross Sections
Attenuation and Energy Deposited in Target Material
Electron Flux from Photon Flux—The “1% Rule”
Dosimetric Quantities for Gammas and X-Rays
Sources of Cross Section Data
Large Contour Plots
Data on the CD-ROM
References
ELECTRONS
Introduction
Elastic Scattering of an Electron from an Atom
Inelastic Scattering of an Electron from an Atom
Electron Energy Loss
Collisional Energy Loss
Radiative Energy Loss
Total Energy Loss and Mean Range against Total Stopping Power
Multiple Angular Scattering
Cross Sections in Selected Elements
Electrons in Low Pressure Air
Large Contour Plots
Data on the CD-ROM
References
PROTONS AND HEAVIER IONS
Background
Principal Results of Ion Stopping Power Theory
Ion Stopping Power in Compounds
Proton and Alpha Particle Stopping Power in Selected Materials
Proton–Nucleus Elastic Scattering
Large Contour Plots
References
SELECTED TOPICS ON NEUTRON INTERACTIONS
Introduction
Neutron Energy and Reaction Nomenclature
Good Neutron Absorbers
The Case of Gd157
Cross Section Dependence on Target Temperature
Neutrons in Silicon
Neutron Lifetime in Air
Neutron Cross Sections in Selected Isotopes
References
APPENDICES
Useful Constants and Defined Units
Useful Internet Web Sites
Biography
Dr. N.J. Carron received his B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. After a post-doctoral appointment at Rice University Department of Physics, he joined the staff of Mission Research Corporation in Santa Barbara, California, where he has remained for more than 30 years. During that time he has contributed to many programs, largely in electromagnetics and applied nuclear and plasma physics, including spacecraft radiation shielding, neutron and gamma ray detectors, relativistic electron beam propagation in air, intense laser propagation in air and laser-target interaction physics, air hydrodynamics, and others. He is an EMP fellow of the Summa Foundation, for his contributions to understanding system generated EMP environments. The present book grew out of frustration at not being able to find readily available, digestible information and reliable data on the penetration of particles through matter. It is the book he wishes he had on his shelves 30 years ago.
"An Introduction to the Passage of Energetic Particles through Matter by N.J. Carron is a promising source book for ‘Knowing where to access [cross-section data], extracting a needed subset from all that is available, knowing how to interpret the format in which it is presented, can be time-consuming tasks… It seemed worthwhile to collect in one place as much of these often needed data as possible, together with enough background physics so the reader can feel comfortable applying them, having some understanding of where they come from and why they have the order of magnitude they have. The idea is to make up-to-date data available and understandable to non-specialists. The book and its accompanying data CD and contour plots are intended to be a working reference for scientists and engineers in industry, educational institutions, and laboratories, providing ready access to useful data. We have also tried to digest the data in the form of useful graphs, showing dependencies over a wide range of the independent variable(s), allowing quick approximations of a quantity. And it was decided to include much of the numerical data on a CD-ROM included with the book.’ These seem excellent reasons for a book such as this, which has chapters on photons, electrons, protons and heavier ions and on ‘Selected topics on neutron interactions’ …."
—P.W. Hawkes in Ultramicroscopy 108 (2008)