Physics For FRCR

•FRCR Physics
•Basic physics relevant to radiotherapy

Joe Berresford (joe.berresford@christie.nhs.uk)

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
 Why do FRCR students need to know
physics?
• Radiation dosimetry is physics
• You prescribe dose as part of your job
• A treatment plan must deliver the desired dose
• You need to understand
• the limitations of planning and delivery
• the effects of changes to the plan
• the role of others in radiotherapy

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 What physics do you need to know?

• The physics behind different choices of treatment

• Photons or electrons?
• What energy?
• Isocentric or fixed SSD
The physics behind important radiotherapy effects
• Skin sparing/electronic equilibrium
• Depositing dose at depth
• Shielding

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 What physics do you need to know?

• Limitations
• Planning algorithms
• Delivery systems
What happens if
• Patient moves/shrinks/is set up wrong
• Treated with wrong energy

• Radiation Protection

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What physics do you need to know?

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 What is radiation?

A mechanism of energy transfer

by streams of sub-atomic particles

(particulate radiation)

by electromagnetic wave motion

(electromagnetic radiation)

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 Particulate Radiation

Electrons - small mass - negative charge

Neutrons - 1800 x electron mass - no charge

Proton -1800 electron mass – positive

charge

Ions e.g. a - particles

4 x neutron mass - positive charge

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 Electromagnetic Radiation

source

‘Broadcasting’ of energy via oscillating field strengths

no mass transfer no electric charge transfer

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 Electromagnetic waves

X-rays Gamma rays

Ultraviolet

Visible light

Infrared

Radio waves

Microwaves

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 Waves
Wave direction
Speed = wavelength x frequency

0
0

-1

wavelength
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 Waves – higher frequency
higher energy
shorter wavelength

0
0 40

-1

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 Waves – lower frequency
lower energy
longer wavelength

0
0

-1

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 The electromagnetic spectrum
Long wavelength Radio waves
Low frequency
Low energy
Microwaves

Infrared

Visible light

Ultraviolet

Short wavelength
High frequency X-rays Gamma rays
High energy
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 X-rays vs Gamma rays

• Electromagnetic radiation
• Similar range of frequencies and wavelength

• Gamma rays come from the atomic

nucleus
• X-ray production involves electrons

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 The electromagnetic spectrum
Wavelength (cm) Type of EM radiation
Long wavelength
Low frequency 106 = 1000,000 LF radio waves
Low energy 105 = 100,000 MF radio waves
104 = 10,000 HF short waves
103 = 1000 VHF short waves
102 = 100 UHF microwaves
10 SHF microwaves
1 EHF microwaves
10-1 = 0.1 Far Infrared
10-2 = 0.01 Near Infrared
10-3 = 0.001 Infrared
10-4 = 0.000,1 Visible light
10-5 = 0.000,01 Ultraviolet
Short wavelength 10-6 = 0.000,001 X-rays and gamma rays
High frequency
High energy
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 Electromagnetic Spectrum

IR UV Low energy X-rays High energy X and g rays

103 102 10 1 10-1 10-2 10-3

Wavelength l , nm
1 nanometer (nm) = 10 -9 metres

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Wavelength, frequency and velocity

All electromagnetic radiation passes through a vacuum

at the same velocity, c = 2.998 x 108 m.s-1 (speed of light)

so, to travel the same distance in the same time radiation

of half the wavelength must have twice the frequency.
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Wavelength, frequency and velocity

Generalising,

Velocity, c = wavelength, l x frequency, n

or

n = c/l

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Photons – packets of energy!

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 Planck’s equation

The energy is only available in discrete amounts.

These are called quanta (singular = quantum)
The energy of each quantum
is proportional to the frequency

E = hn
(where h is Planck’s constant)

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 Quanta and photons

E = hn may be re-written as E = hc/l

The higher the frequency (or the shorter the wavelength)
then the higher the energy carried by the quantum.

A quantum may be regarded as a massless particle.

We call this a PHOTON.

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 Interactions

In the target of a linac

or x-ray machine

In a patient
on treatment

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 Electrons

• Negative charge
• Very small mass
• Part of every atom
- but can escape!

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 Electrons

• Attracted by positive charge (anode)

• Repelled by negative charge (cathode)
• Move through an electric field

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 Interactions of electrons in matter

• Ionisation
• Excitation

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Atomic structure
Orbiting
electron

L
Nucleus

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Ionisation

Released

Scattered

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Excitation

Scattered

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 An ‘excited’ atom :

• is an energy store
• after the excitation it contains more energy than it had
prior to the excitation
• the extra energy that it has is equal to the difference in
the binding energies
• it will soon return to its original (stable) state and emit
the excess energy - as an X-ray

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Characteristic X-ray emission

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Bremsstrahlung

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 X-ray spectrum

Intensity

Line spectrum
(characteristic)
Continuous spectrum
(bremsstrahlung)

Energy

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 X-rays and g-rays

• X-rays arise from electron interactions

• characteristic X-rays - line spectrum
• bremsstrahlung X-rays - continuous spectrum
• gamma-rays arise from within an unstable
nucleus
• characteristic of the nuclide - line spectrum

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 Interactions of photons in the patient

• Photoelectric effect
• Compton Scatter
• Pair Production

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Ionisation - by photoelectric effect

Released
(Primary)

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 Radiation
Particulate Electromagnetic (photons)

ionising ionising non-ionising

 - particles X-rays light

[electrons]
protons g-rays infra-red
neutrons radio waves
a - particles
[helium ions]

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A few important concepts…

…………………….

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 Volts and electron volts
Volt Electron Volt
• A unit of electrical potential • A unit of energy

• One electron Volt = 1eV

the energy gained by one electron
accelerated through an electrical
potential of one Volt

1keV = 1000 eV
1MeV = 1000,000 eV

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 Linac terminology
• 6 MV linac
• applies an accelerating voltage of 6 megavolts
(Do not confuse with mV = millivolts)

• 6 MeV electrons
• electrons accelerated through 6MV

• 6 MV x-rays
• produced when 6MeV electrons strike a target
• have a spectrum of energies from 0 to 6 MeV

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The inverse square law

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The inverse square law

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