The Passage of Energetic Particles Through Matter
Abstract
This introductory chapter is contained in a book whose purpose was to collect, summarize, document, and put in useful form the basic cross sections, stopping powers, and other parameters characterizing the passage of energetic particles through matter. These energetic particles include photons, electrons, protons, alpha particles, neutrons, and heavy ions. The book is intended to be a working reference providing ready access to useful data, with enough discussion of the background physics to make understandable the order of magnitude of their numerical values. It is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the passage of particles through matter. However, references that together may be taken to constitute such a treatise are provided in this chapter. The chapter provides background information on the applications of the cross sections and stopping powers of particles in matter followed by definitions and basic information on the following topics: the difference between a charged particle passing through matter and a neutral particle; electromagnetic fields; radiation and radioactive materials; flux; flux density; fluence; distribution functions and fluxes of particles, including the Boltzmann distribution function and the Maxwellian distribution function; flux and three-dimensional geometry; directed planar flux; bi-directional planar flux and current; planar flux for an isotropic gas; planar flux for a plane beam of particles; omni-directional flux; omni-directional flux for an isotropic gas; omni-directional flux for a plane beam; and energy spectrum and spectral fluence. (10 refs.)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 31, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA413718
Entities
People
- N. J. Carron