Radiation Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards for radiation lecture review.

Radiation

Energy that travels as a wave.

Law of Conservation

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another.

Special Relativity

Deals with the relationship between energy and mass.

Frequency

Number of waves that pass a fixed point per unit time, measured in Hertz.

Atomic Number

The number of protons/electrons in an atom.

Intermolecular Forces

Forces that hold atoms and molecules together in matter; heat will break these bonds and change the state of matter.

Exposure

Number of ionization events occurring in 1 kg of air, measured in Coulombs per kilogram (C/kg).

Gray (Gy)

The absorbed dose: amount of energy deposited in 1 kg of matter, measured in Joules per kilogram (J/kg).

Acoustic Radiation

Sound energy that is transmitted via vibration.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Energy that is transmitted via an electric and magnetic field; consists of photons exhibiting wave-particle duality.

Wave-Particle Duality

Photons exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties.

Excitation Reaction

Adding the right amount of energy to help break subatomic forces.

Relaxation Reaction

Process of returning to a ground state or unenergized state, releasing energy to the environment.

Ionizing Radiation

Radiation with enough energy to break subatomic bonds holding electrons, potentially causing harm to living organisms.

Particulate Radiation

Energy that is transmitted as subatomic particles or heavy ions.

Linear Energy Transfer (LET)

Measured in electron volts (KeV/um).

Penetration

How far into a material radiation can travel before transferring all its energy.

Sivert (Sv)

Another measure of radiation, in J/kg.

Half-life

Continues forever

Medical Radiation Safety Measures

Radiation management plan, safety operator, personal monitoring devices (limit 20mSv per year), radiation incident register, time/distance/shielding.