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Basic Interactions
Problem Set 4.1a Solutions
1. An electron enters a volume V with kinetic energy 4 MeV, and carries 0.5 MeV of
that energy out of V when it leaves. While in the volume it produces a
Bremsstrahlung x-ray of 1.5 MeV, which escapes from V. What is the contribution of
this event to:
(a) The energy transferred?
The energy transferred is the energy transferred from an incident photon to
kinetic energy of electrons. Because the energy entering the volume V
comes from a charged particle, rather than from a photon, the energy
transferred is zero.
(b) The net energy transferred?
The net energy transferred is the energy transferred from an incident
photon to kinetic energy of electrons minus the energy lost to radiative
processes. Because the energy entering the volume V comes from a
charged particle, rather than from a photon, the net energy transferred is
zero.
(c) The energy imparted?
The energy imparted is given by
= ( ) ( ) + ( ) ( ) +
2. (Attix 4-3) A 10-MeV photon enters a volume V and undergoes pair production,
thereby disappearing and giving rise to an electron and positron of equal energies.
The electron spends half its kinetic energy in collision interactions before escaping
from V. The positron spends half of its kinetic energy in collisions in V before being
annihilated in flight. The resulting photons escape from V. What is the contribution
of this event to:
(a) The energy transferred?
The energy transferred is given by
= ( ) ( )
+
volume, except those originating from radiative losses, and is the net
energy derived from rest mass in V. The radiant energy of uncharged
particles entering the volume is 10 MeV. The radiant energy of uncharged
particles leaving the volume not resulting from radiative losses is 1.02
MeV. The net energy derived from rest mass in V is 0, since both the pair
is created and a positron is annihilated.
Consequently the energy transferred is 10 1.02 MeV, or 8.98 MeV.
(b) The net energy transferred?
The net energy transferred is given by
= ( ) ( )
+
( ) ( )
( )
0.00215 0.00208
0.00215
5. (Attix 4-7) A broad beam of low-energy x-rays with a fluence rate of 3.7 10-4 J/cm2
s irradiates a plate of Al perpendicularly, and is completely absorbed.
(a) What is the energy absorbed per cm2 in 5 min?
Assuming all the energy is absorbed by the Al plate, the energy absorbed is
equal to the energy incident in 5 min, or
E = 3.7 10-4 J/cm2 s 5 min 60 s/min
= 0.111 J
(b) If the slab is 2 cm thick and has a density of 2.7 g/cm3, what is the average
value of Kcoll throughout the medium?
0.111 J
1
cm3 1000 g
=
cm2
2 cm 2.7 g
kg
= 20.6 J kg 1
= 20.6 Gy
(c) Assuming no electrons enter or leave the plate, what is the average absorbed
dose?
Because no electrons enter or leave the plate, we have charged particle
equilibrium, and Kcoll is equal to D, so the absorbed dose is also 20.6 Gy.
(d) What would be the average absorbed dose if the slab were 4 cm thick?
If the slab were twice as thick, then the volume would be doubled, and the
dose would be halved, so the dose would be 10.3 Gy.