V. Physical effects in ionizing radiation passage through matter

The ionization of the medium during absorption of alpha particles is described. The ranges are given of alpha particles in the air and in certain liquids and solids. The absorption of protons and deuterons takes place similarly as in alpha particles but protons and deuterons have a bigger range at the same energy. The term half-thickness has been introduced for the absorption of beta particles. For different energies of beta particles the absorption of these particles is graphically represented for different materials. The greatest attention is devoted to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, i.e., X radiation and gamma radiation. The mechanisms are explained of absorption by photoelectric effect, the Compton effect and electron pair formation. In X radiation radiotherapy, filters are used, mostly aluminium, copper or zinc plates. The values are given of radiation intensity for different thicknesses of aluminium and copper filters and a survey is given of combined filters for 220 to 400 kV. For radiotherapy purposes great attention is devoted to the calculation of the depth dose. The effects are discussed of ionizing radiation on photographic emulsion, on changes in the colouring of some substances and fluorescence. Also given are the biological effects of ionizing radiation and the theory of direct and indirect effects is briefly described. (E.S.)