Section 18.2, and Radiations

Section 18.
,  and  radiations
• Origins and nature of ,  and 

radiations
• Properties of radiation
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18.2 ,  and  radiations (SB p. 7)
Origins and nature of ,  and  radiations
u b s t a nc e s
s
it r a d ia t io ns
em
r a d io a c tive

process
Radioactivit
y

Origin and nature of ,  and  radiations
Radioactivity
— unstable nuclei emitting alpha,
beta particles & gamma rays

radioactive decay / disintegration
Emit from nuclei of atoms

→ nuclear radiations

 particles
Alpha particles
Symbol 4 or 4
2 He
2

Nature helium nucleus
proton
(2 protons & 2 neutrons)
Charge +2 electric charges (+2e)
Speed up to 3  107 m s1
neutron Energy same KE for a particular
source

 particles
Beta particles
Symbol 0 or 0

electron -1 -1 e
Nature electron
Charge 1e
Speed up to 2.7  108 m s1
Energy various KE, for a particular
source

 rays
Gamma rays
0
Symbol 0

Nature electromagnetic waves with

frequencies higher than
3  1019 Hz
Charge neutral
Speed 3  108 m s1 (speed of light)
Energy /

Properties of radiation – Ionizing power

By collision
electron of air molecule
knocked out
nucleus
proton
 particle neutron
electron
 particle (with KE) co

llides with air molecul
e
form ion-pair

Ionizing power
By collision
gain energy
(air molecule
nucleus ionized)
proton
 particle neutron
electron
lose energy
Chance of having head-on

collisions is very low.

Ionizing power
By electrostatic force
 particle (+2e)
→ set up E- field
→ attract e of air
molecules
→ e pulled off moving direction of alpha particle
 particle
→ ion pairs formed
electron
ion pair
positive ion

Ionizing power
ionizing power
— amount of ion pairs produced per cm

Comparison of ionizing power

ionizing power
  
Strongest Weaker Weakest


Because…
  
• +2e, exerts  1e , exerts • electrically
greater force on smaller force neutral, exerts
air molecules on air no force on air
• moves at molecules molecules
relatively low • travels faster • travels very fast
speed → chance of (speed of light)
→ chance of ionizing lower → chance of
ionizing higher ionizing very low


No. of ion pairs produced
  
105 ion pairs 103 ion pairs chance of
per cm per cm collision very
slim →
seldom
produce ion
pairs

Example 1:
The following figure shows a simple circuit.
(a) Explain briefly why there is no current recorded.
(b) The microammeter shows a reading when a beam of -
particles passes through the air gap between the metal
plates. Explain why.
Solution
(a) Since air is a poor conductor of electricity,

there is no current flow.
(b) When -particles pass through the air gap, a large number of ion
pairs are produced. The positive ions are attracted towards the
negative plate while the negative ions move to the positive plate.
This gives rise to the current flow in the circuit.
Class Practice 1:
Two positively charged aluminium strips are held as shown.
They repel each other initially. insulating
Answer
rod
When an -source is placed near
collapse
to the strips, the strips _____________
(collapse / repel further). This is because
ionize
-particles __________ (ionize / neutralize)
air molecules and the positive charges
on the strips are neutralized by the aluminium strips
electrons
________________
 -sour
(-particles / electrons / positive ions). ce

Range in air
Expt 18A scaler

Range of alpha
particles
 -source
(americium)
metre ruler
GM tube

Range in air
-particles
• ionizes air molecules
• loses KE
• finally stop
→ absorbed by air
The distance radiation travelled before absorption

range

Comparison of range
Range in air
  
Up to several
Up to several
About 5 cm hundred metr
metres
es

Comparison of range
Because…
  
strong ionizing po much weaker ioni • extremely weak
wer → zing power → ionizing power
loses KE loses KE →longest range
readily slower • intensity
→ shortest ran → longer range 1
ge 
distance travelled

Example 2:
1
(a) An alpha particle is emitted at a speed of of that of light
10
(speed of light = 3  108 m s1). Assuming that the mass of

a neutron is equal to that of a proton = 1.67  10Solution
27
kg, find
An the initial
alpha kinetic
particle energy
consists of the
of two alphaand
protons particle.
two neutrons.
Hence, the mass of an alpha particle is equal to the total mass of
two protons and two neutrons.
m = 2 mp + 2 mn
= 4  (1.67  1027) (  mp = mn)
= 6.68  1027 kg
Kinetic energy of the alpha particle:
1 2
KE   m  v   (6.68  10  27 )    3  108   3  10 12 J

2 1 1
2 2  10 
Example 2: (Cont)
(b) If the range of this alpha particle is 6 cm in air, and the
energy needed to produce one ion-pair is 7.2  1019 J, find
the number of air molecules that the alpha particle can

ionize along its path. Hence, find the ionizing power of the
alpha particle. Solution
Number of ionized air molecules
3  10 12

7.2  10 19
= 4.2  106
Ionizing power of the alpha particle
= Number of ion-pairs produced per cm
4.2  10 6
= = 7  105 ion-pairs cm1
6
Cloud chamber tracks

felt ring
Diffusion cloud soaked with transparent
chamber alcohol lid
shape of tracks
→ types of
radium
radiations source
dry ice
compartment rubber
wedge

-particle tracks
Tracks
— thick & straight
— about the
same length


-particle tracks
Tracks
— thin &
twisted
— different
lengths


-ray tracks
Tracks
— seldom leave
tracks
— similar to that
formed by -
particle even
thinner


alcohol vapour diffus light
es to lower region
→ cool layer of supersat
felt ring soaked with & condensed
alcohol urated vapour for
transparent lid med
upper
compartment
radioactive
source
insulator lower
compartment
cool the lower
region of upper
foam dry ice
base lid chamber

radiation emitted
 ionizes air
molecules
 alcohol vapour
condenses
readily on ions
 forms white
tracks

Class Practice 2:
(a) The following diagrams show the cloud chamber
tracks when the radioactive sources cobalt-60, radium-
226 and americium-241 are used.
cobalt-60 radium-226 americium-241

Class Practice 2: (Cont)

(a)
cobalt-60 radium-226 americium-241
Write the type(s) of radiation emitted by each source in

the following table. Answer
Source Type(s) of radiation emitted
Cobalt-60 
Radium-226 , 
Americium-241 
(b) Why do ,  and  radiations produce different cloud

chamber tracks? Explain the tracks by considering
the properties of each radiation: ionizing power,
mass, range, kinetic energy.
(i) -particles:
The thick tracks are due to Answer
the strong ionizing power of alpha

particles. A large number of ion-pairs
are formed along their paths.

(b) (i) -particles:

The tracks are straight because Answer
alpha particles have relatively large

mass. When they travel in air , their paths
can hardly be deflected by air molecules.
The length of each track is about 5 cm. This

shows that Answer
the range of alpha particles in air

and the fact that they are emitted with the
same kinetic energy.

(b) (ii) -particles:

Much thinner tracks are produced because
Answer
they have weak ionizing power.
The twisted tracks show that Answer
their paths are deflected frequently.

Since a beta particle is simply an electron and
has a small mass, its path can be deflected
easily by collisions with air molecules.

(b) (ii) -particles:

The various lengths of the beta tracks reveal that
theyAnswer
are emitted with different kinetic energies.
(iii) -rays:
We can hardly see the tracks produced by
 -rays because Answer
they seldom ionize air molecules

due to their extremely low ionizing power.

Electric deflection
positive metal negative metal
plate plate CAL Workshop 1
 Properties of alpha,
 beta and gamma
rays

• -rays
electrically neutral
 not deflected
• -particles towards
negative plate
-particle deflected mor
e than -particle as its m • -particles towards
ass is smaller positive plate
Magnetic deflection
Expt 18B scaler
Deflection of be
ta particles in
magnetic field a slit formed
by two
lead plates
GM tube
to scaler
 -source (s
a pair of trontium)
slab-shaped
Thinking 1
magnets
Magnetic deflection Thinking 2

 • -rays
  neutral
 not deflected
• directions of - & -
particles predicted by
radioactive
source that Fleming's left hand rule
emits three
types of
radiation
radiation -particles have short range
- particle deflected more t → experiment done in a
han -particle lead
as its mass i vacuum
s smaller
Background radiation and

penetrating power
scaler
Expt 18C
Background rad
iation and pene
trating power of
radiation
measure
background radiation
GM tube

Background radiation and

penetrating power
scaler
study
penetrating power
stopping
material
ability to pass through
certain material without
being absorbed
GM tube radioactive
source
Thinking 3
Comparison of penetrating power
Penetrating power
  
Weakest Stronger Strongest

Because…
  
• much weaker • high frequency
• strong ionizing
ionizing power EM wave
power
→ loses →possesses
→ loses KE
KE at highest energy
readily
lower rate • extremely weak
→ absorbed b
ionizing power
y
(it loses KE at th
air quickly
e lowest rate)
Stopping material
  
• cannot be
absorbed
A sheet of alumi completely
A sheet of paper nium with thickn • 20 mm thick
ess 5 mm lead plate
absorb half of
them
-particle
(the weakest)
-particle
-radiation
(the strongest)
5 mm
paper aluminium sheet thick lead plate

Class Practice 3:
A student uses a GM counter to determine the type(s)
of radiation emitted by a radioactive source in the
laboratory. He inserts different materials between the
source and the GM tube. The table below summarizes
the results. The background radiation is taken into
account.

Distance between radioactive Material Counter reading

source and GM tube inserted (counts / min)
3 cm nil 520
10 cm nil 300
3 mm aluminiu
20 cm 100
m sheet
3 mm aluminiu
20 cm m sheet and 20 100
mm lead plate

From the above data, we can conclude that the source

emits __________________
 and  radiation(s).
Answer
Explain briefly.
When the radioactive source is moved
3 cm to 10 cm away from the GM tube, there is a
significant drop in reading. This shows the presence of
-radiation which has a short range in air. When the
aluminium sheet is inserted, the reading drops further which
indicates the presence of -radiation. When
the lead plate is inserted further, the reading
does not change which indicates there
is no -radiation.

Example 3:
A beam of -rays is produced. Suppose the intensity at 1 m
from the source is 16 units.
(a) Estimate the intensity of the -rays after they have
travelled a distance of 2 m.
(b) Then a lead plate of thickness 60 mm is inserted, what is
the intensity of the radiation after passing through the plate
sheet?
Solution
(a) As the intensity of -rays obeys the inverse square law, the
16
intensity after the rays have travelled 2 m is 2 = 4 units.
2
Solution

Example 3: (Cont)
(b) Recall the fact that 20 mm lead plate can absorb half of the
-rays. The following diagram shows the absorption of -rays by
the 60 mm lead plate.
Hence, the final intensity is 0.5 units.

To section 18.3

14.4 Electric field (SB p. 21)
Thinking 1
Applying Fleming’s left hand rule

When applying Fleming’s left hand rule to find
out the direction of deflection of radiation,
should we take the travelling directions of -
and -rays as the direction of conventional
current? Answer
Since -ray carries positive charge, its direction
is same as the direction of conventional current.
However, for the -ray, it carries negative charge
and its direction is opposite to the direction of
conventional current. Return to
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd.
Text 49
Thinking 2
The figure shows the cloud-chamber tracks

of alpha particles which have been deflected
by a magnetic field. Deduce the direction of
the magnetic field by using the Fleming’s left
hand rule. (Note that the source is located at
the right hand side.)
Answer
The magnetic field is
pointing out of the page.
Return to
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd.
Text 50
Thinking 3
Should we use lead to absorb beta

particles? Answer
Recall the nature of beta particles.
Lead is not used to stop high speed
beta particles because X-rays will be
emitted when beta particles strike on
a lead surface.
Return to
Text

Section 18.2, and Radiations

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Section 18.2, and Radiations

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Section 18.

• Origins and nature of ,  and 

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 1

Origins and nature of ,  and  radiations

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 2

Origin and nature of ,  and  radiations

beta particles & gamma rays

Emit from nuclei of atoms

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 3

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 4

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Nature electromagnetic waves with

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Properties of radiation – Ionizing power

 particle (with KE) co

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Chance of having head-on

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Comparison of ionizing power

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Comparison of ionizing power

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Comparison of ionizing power

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(a) Since air is a poor conductor of electricity,

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Expt 18A scaler

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The distance radiation travelled before absorption

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(speed of light = 3  108 m s1). Assuming that the mass of

KE   m  v   (6.68  10  27 )    3  108   3  10 12 J

the number of air molecules that the alpha particle can

Cloud chamber tracks

Cloud chamber tracks

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 23

Cloud chamber tracks

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 24

Cloud chamber tracks

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Cloud chamber tracks

Cloud chamber tracks

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cobalt-60 radium-226 americium-241

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 28

Class Practice 2: (Cont)

cobalt-60 radium-226 americium-241

Write the type(s) of radiation emitted by each source in

Class Practice 2: (Cont)

(b) Why do ,  and  radiations produce different cloud

the strong ionizing power of alpha

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 30

Class Practice 2: (Cont)

(b) (i) -particles:

alpha particles have relatively large

The length of each track is about 5 cm. This

the range of alpha particles in air

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 31