Demonstration: I-1 Presentation of different types of radiation

sources and explanation of their application;

natural and human made radionuclides; consumer
products.

Introduction:

There are different types of radiations namely charged particles,
neutrons and energetic photons. The sources of these various radiations,
their production mechanisms in different nuclear reactions and their
applications are briefly described below.
The radiation sources are broadly classified in two categories i.e.,
natural and man made sources:

Natural Radiation Sources

- External sources of extra terrestrial origin ( Cosmic rays ). These rays
constitutes 79% of high energy protons, 20% alpha particles and rest 1%
of light ions, electrons, photons, neutrons etc. and we are continuously
exposed to the shower of these radiations.

- Sources of Terrestrial origin. These constitute radioactive nuclides
present in Earths crust and in its atmosphere. These radionuclides are
called natural radionuclides and are of two types - Primordial and
Cosmogenic.

Primordial radionuclides are isotopes of heavy elements
238
U,
232
Th,
40
K,
87
Rb,
50
V,
187
Re,
115
In,
148
Sm,
176
Hf etc.

Cosmogenic radionuclides are isotopes formed due to nuclear reaction
between cosmic ray particles and stable isotopes in atmosphere. They are
3
H,
7
Be,
10
Be,
14
C,
22
Na,
32
Si,
26
Al,
36
Cl etc.

Man made radiation Sources

1. High energy charged particles:
Nuclides of light elements, protons, deuterons, alpha particles,
electrons etc. can be produced in various types of accelerators such as
Vandegraff accelerator, Linear accelerator, Cyclotron, Synchrotron, etc.

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2. Sources of Electromagnetic radiation :

a. X-rays

When electrons are accelerated and made to hit hard targets
electromagnetic radiations are produced. These are called X-Rays and
have energies in the range of eV KeV. The energy spectrum of X rays
contains a continuous spectrum and a Characteristic spectrum. The
energy limit of the continuous spectrum depends mainly on the energy of
the electrons or the accelerating voltage. At the same time the energies of
the characteristic spectrum depends on the atomic number of the target
material.

b. Gamma rays

When a radionuclide decays emitting alpha or beta particles, it invariably
ends up in an excited nuclide, which then decays by emitting photons
called Gamma Rays. The energy of the gamma rays is characteristic of
the type of the nuclide which decays. They have energies in the range of
few keV to few MeV.
Example: 661.62 keV gamma rays following the -decay of
137
Cs.

c. Gamma rays following nuclear Reactions

High energy gamma rays , higher than the one available from the nuclear
decay is obtained following nuclear reactions. These are also called
prompt gamma rays.

+
4
Be
9

6
C
12*
+
0
n
1
+ ( 4.4 MeV)


+
6
C
13

8
O
16*
+
0
n
1
+ ( 6.13 MeV)

d. Annihilation radiation

When a positron and electron interacts through annihilation process two
photons of energy .51 MeV is emitted. These photons are oppositely
directed from the point of annihilation. These are commonly observed
after the disintegration of nuclides through
+
(Positron) decay. This
positron after losing energy in the medium gets annihilated with an
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electron in the surrounding by emitting photons. Thus
+
radionuclides
are sources of annihilation photons also. Eg.
22
Na,
64
Cu.

e. Bremsstrahlung radiation

When electrons interact in a matter part of their energy is converted in to
electromagnetic radiation. These radiations are called Bremsstrahlung
radiations. The energy of these radiations depends on energy of the
electron and the atomic number of the target.

f. Characteristic X ray emission after radioactive decay

Process of internal conversion and electron capture leaves a vacancy in
the orbital structure, which gets filled from outer shell electrons with the
emission of x rays which are characteristic of the element.


3. Neutron sources

Different types of neutron sources with wide spectrum of neutron
energies are available. With respect to energy, neutrons are classified in
four groups.

1. Thermal neutrons ( Energy below 0.5 eV )
2. Intermediate neutrons ( 0.5 eV -- 100 keV )
3. Fast neutrons ( 100 keV - 20 MeV )
4. High energy neutrons ( Energy above 20 MeV )

a. Mono energy neutron source

These are produced by interactions among the isotopes of Hydrogen and
other light nuclides. These energetic particles are obtained through
accelerators. Energies are in the range of few MeV.

3
H ( p,n )
3
He ,
3
H ( d,n )
4
He ,
2
H ( d,n )
3
He ,
7
Li ( p,n )
7
Be





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b. Spontaneous fission sources

Neutrons produced in spontaneous fission reaction fall under this
category e.g.,
252
Cf,
244
Cm,
241
Am etc., are the sources of spontaneous
fission neutrons.

c. Radioisotope ( ,n) sources

Several target materials with low Z number can lead to (,n) reactions
for alpha energies which are readily available in a radioactive decay.
Beryllium is the best target material for maximum neutron yield and
neutrons are produced through the reaction


2

4
+
4
Be
9

6
C
12
+
0
n
1


Various combinations like
239
Pu/Be,
241
Am/Be,
226
Ra,
244
Cm etc. are
widely used as neutron sources.

d. Photoneutron sources

Some light nuclides undergo (,n ) reaction when these are irradiated
with high energy gamma photons.
9
Be and
2
H are common nuclides
used for these reactions.


4
Be
9
+ h
4
Be
8
+
0
n
1



1
H
2
+ h
1
H
1
+
0
n
1




4. Electron sources

a. Beta decay

One of the most common sources of electrons of wide energy spectrum
is from the beta decay of radionuclides. There are some pure Beta
emitters like
3
H,
14
C,
32
P,
36
Cl,
35
S,
90
Sr,
90
Y,
147
Pm,
204
Tl etc. having
endpoint energies in the range of 18 keV to 2.27MeV.


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b. Internal Conversion electrons

Many times the nuclear excitation energy is transferred directly to one of
the orbital electrons of the atom, which is emitted from the orbit with
this energy and is called internally converted electron. These electrons
then appears with an energy given by

E
e
= E
ex
- E
b


Examples are
109
Cd,
113
Sn,
137
Cs,
139
Ce,
207
Bi

c. Auger electrons

Auger electrons are roughly analogues of internal conversion electrons
where the excitation energy originates from the atom rather than in the
nucleus.


5. Heavy Charged particles

a. Alpha particles

Nuclei of heavy elements such as Am, Pu, Cm, Cf etc., are energetically
unstable against the spontaneous emission of an alpha particle ( Helium
nucleus ) and thus can be used as alpha sources. The decay process is
written schematically as


Z
X
A

Z-2
Y
A-4
+
2

4



6. Artificial Radioactivity

Frederic and Irene Joliot Curie discovered the phenomenon of artificial
radioactivity in 1934. But the large scale production of artificially
produced radionuclide has come only after the discovery of nuclear
fission by Otto Hahn and Strassman (1939) and establishment of first
nuclear reactor by Enrico Fermi (1942). Since then these radionuclide
have been in use in various fields such as Research, Industry, Medicine
and Agriculture. These artificial radioactive nuclides are basically fission
products, accelerator products and activation products.
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7. Typical Applications of Radioisotopes

Radioactive isotopes are extensively used in following fields

1. Chemical investigations
2. Physico-chemical applications
3. Analytical applications
4. Dating
5. Medical applications
6. Agricultural applications
7. Prospecting of natural resources
8. Industrial applications

The use of isotopes in the above fields is further classified as

1. Chemical investigations

Various types of radionuclides are used for this purpose. Use in this field
is mainly for the studies on
a. Reaction Mechanisms
b. Structure determinations
c. Isotope exchange reactions

2. Physico-chemical applications

Radioisotopes are widely used in physico-chemical research areas like
a. Studies on solubility of sparingly soluble substances
b. Surface area estimations of powder or precipitates
c. Rates of diffusions

3. Analytical applications

The use of radioactive isotopes has become a part of many analytical
techniques. Some of these analytic techniques are
a. Radiochromatography
b. Isotope dilution analysis
c. Neutron activation analysis
d. Neutron absorptiometry
e. Radiometric titration
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4. Age determinations i.e., Dating

The uses of radioactive nuclides in the dating studies are well known.
Some of the fields are dating by tritium content, dating by carbon-14
content, age of minerals and rocks, Age of the earth etc.

5. Medical Applications

Earliest applications of radioisotopes are made in Medicine and
Biochemistry. Some of the uses are

a. Diagnosis and Therapy of Thyroiditis (
131
I and
125
I )
b. Locating tumor in Brain (
131
I )
c. Assessing the volume of blood in the patient (
24
Na,
51
Cr,
32
P etc.)
d. Defects in blood circulation: effect of drugs (
24
Na)
e. Mechanism of bone fracture healing (
35
S,
32
P )
f. Other medical uses in the field of Bone imaging, Cerebrospinal fluid,
Kidney disorder, Liver/spleen diagnosis, Lung ventilation, and General
metabolism. The common radioisotopes used are
18
F,
85
Sr
, 99m
Tc,
111
In,
131
I,
198
Au,
67
Ga,
24
Na,
42
K, etc.
g. Radioimmuno assay (RIA) using
131
I

6. Agricultural applications

A variety of radionuclides are used in the field of agriculture. Some of
them are

a. Studies on the optimum use of the fertilisers using radioactive tracers
such as
45
Ca,
32
P,
15
N etc.
b. In the genetic engineering for better crop improvement, gamma
radiations from radionuclides are used for irradiating the seeds.
c. Control of predatory insects by labeling the insects with radioactivity and
study its migration behavior.

7. Prospecting of natural resources

Variety applications are there in the field of prospecting natural resources
using radiation sources and prompt gamma rays from some nuclear
reactions. Some of the fields are
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a. Prospecting of water and petroleum
b. Elemental concentrations (Magnesium, Potassium, Chlorine, Calcium,
Sulphur etc. )
c. Diamonds and Beryllium
d. Uranium and Thorium


8. Industrial applications

Radiation sources are playing vital role in the industry. The common
radionuclides used are
90
Sr,
137
Cs,
60
Co,
55
Fe,
192
Ir etc. Some of the
applications are

a. Thickness measurement and control
b. Friction and wear out estimations
c. Gamma radiography


Other Uses of Nuclear radiation

1. High energy gamma radiation is used to sterilize surgical equipments and
food articles. Mostly gamma energies from
60
Co or
137
Cs are used for this
purpose.
2. Radiation energy can also be used for chemical synthesis in the
production of some compounds.
3. Radioisotopes can be used as sources of energy. The heat produced due
to the decay is used to produce thermoelectric power, which can be used
to power batteries in submarine, spacecraft, pacemakers etc.
90
Sr and
238
Pu are commonly used for this purpose.


Aim:

Presentation of different types of radiation sources depending on the
properties of these radiations namely penetrating power, ionizing power etc.




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Apparatus:

A G.M.Counter, ZnS(Ag) based scintillation counter, NaI(Tl)
scintillation counter, Radioactive sources such as Am-241, Sr-90 and Cs-
137.

Activity:

(a) Identification of an alpha emitting source:

It is known that alpha particles are only Helium nucleus having mass
number four and charge two units. It is emitted from the heavy nuclides and
carries discrete kinetic energy. Because of its higher mass this particle
undergoes rapid attenuation in energy through ionization in the medium.
This makes the range of alpha particle very short. In air typical range will be
of the order of few centimeter. In other materials a thickness of few micron
will be sufficient to completely stop all the alpha particles. This property can
be demonstrated as follows

Keep the radio active source under the ZnS(Ag) based scintillation
detector which make use of the scintillation caused by alpha particles in the
scintillator. These scintillation photon are counted. The counts are recorded
for a known time say 100 sec. Then a very thin paper is inserted in between
the detector and the source. The counts are again recorded for the same time.
The counts reduce to a level equal to the background count of the detector.
This is typical method to check the radioactive source emitting alpha
particles.

(b) Identification of beta emitting source:

Beta particles are energetic electrons emitted from the disintegrating
nucleus. The energy spectrum of the emitted electrons is continuous in
nature. The range of these energetic electrons is very high compared to that
of alpha particles because of its lower mass. Beta particle also loses energy
by ionization in the medium. These particles are detected using GM counter
which employs the ionization produced by these particle in the counting
medium ( Gases like Ar, Ne etc. ). Keep the beta-emitting source under the
GM counter and record the count for known counting time say 100 sec.
Now insert aluminium absorbers of varying thickness in between the source
and the detector and the counts rates are recorded. Plot a graph of count rate
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versus absorber thickness. It can be seen that as the absorber thickness
increases the count rate decreases and after a particular absorber thickness
the count rate equals the detector's background. This clearly demonstrates
that aluminium sheets are attenuating the beta particles. The thickness
required to completely stop the beta particle depends on the energy of the
beta particle. Based on this the range energy relationship the energy of the
beta particle can be estimated .

(c) Identification of Gamma emitting source:

Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiations emitted from the nucleus
after the emission of either alpha or beta particles. These radiations are
having energy in the range of few keV to several MeV and have very high
penetrating power. It interacts with matter mainly through three processes
namely Photoelectric effect, Compton effect and Pair production. The
secondary energetic electrons created through the above process deposit
energy in the medium by ionization. The NaI(Tl) based scintillations
detectors are suitable for the detection of gamma rays. Like X rays gamma
rays also undergo attenuation in the medium exponentially. Keep a gamma-
emitting source in front of the detector and calculate the number of counts
recorded in the photopeak region in the spectrum. Insert lead sheets of
varying thickness in between the detector and the source and tabulate the
counts in the photopeak with the thickness of the sheets. Plot a curve of
counts versus thickness. It can be seen that the intensity or the counts in the
photopeak reduces exponentially with the thickness. This methodology can
be used to identify the intensity of the gammas emitted by the source while
spectrometry can be used to identify the energy and the source of the
gammas.

(d) Identification and detection of neutron sources:

The neutrons do not cause ionization in the medium directly as is the case
with beta or gamma radiation. Hence conventional detection methods cannot
be used for identification of neutron source. At the same time it is possible
to use some of the common neutron induced reactions for the detection of
neutrons. Some stable nuclides like Indium, Manganese, Gold etc under go
neutron capture ( activation) reaction and the product nuclides will be
radioactive. The activity of the product nuclides can be used to calculate
neutron flux from the source. Typical example for this experiment is the
measurement of thermal neutron flux using Indium foil activation. The foil
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of known mass is exposed to neutrons for a known time (in a reactor or in a
neutron source like
252
Cf ) . Then the activity of the foil is measured using
the GM counter. The flux can be calculated using the following relation

Activity = N * * * (1-e
- t
)

where N is no. of target atoms, is flux in n/cm
2
/sec. , is reaction
cross section and is the disintegration constant of the product nuclide and
t is the irradiation time.

Monitoring of neutrons in a working area can be carried out using detectors
based on the
3
He (n,p)
3
H and
10
B(n,)
7
Li reactions.

Precautions to be taken while handling sources:

While conducting the demonstration, sources should be handled
properly with the help of tongs. Personal monitoring devices may be used
during the course of the demonstration.

Questions:

1. What are the different types of radiations emitted during disintegration of
the nucleus and briefly describe their properties?
2. What are the three process of interaction of gamma rays with matter?
3. Describe the detection techniques used for detecting alpha, beta and
gamma radiations?
4. What are the common detectors used for neutron detection and
measurement?

References:

1. Nuclear Radiation Detection by William J. Price, McGraw-Hill Book
Company, New York.
2. Radiation Detection and Measurement by Glenn F. Knoll, John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
3. Introduction to Health Physics by Herman Cember.
4. Phillips technical note on GM Tubes.
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