1st Edition

An Introduction to the Passage of Energetic Particles through Matter

By N.J Carron Copyright 2006
    384 Pages 199 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    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.

    INTRODUCTION
    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)