11.
KERMA 23
An average value of (/.L~,./P)for the spectrum q ' ( E ) is given by
(2.5a)
C. Relation of Kerma to Fluence for Neutrons
Equations (2.4) and (2.5) could be applied to neutrons as well asx- and y-ray photons,
but this is not customary. Usually neutron fields are described in terms of flux density
and fluence, instead of energy flux density and energy fluence as is usually the case with
photons. Thus for consistency a quantity called the knmafuctor F, is tabulated for
neutrons instead of the mass energy-transfer coefficient:
, ~ given in units of crn2/g, the neutron energy E in this relation is
If ( C ( J P ) ~ is
commonly expressed in g-radheutron in place of MeVIneutron, through the fol-
lowing unit conversion:
E(-"") X 1.602 X lop6-
erg X 10-2 rad = E(-) g rad
neutron MeV erg. neutron
(2.7)
so that the energy of a 1-MeV neutron is also 1.602 X g-rad.
Thus, instead of Eq. (2.4), for monoenergetic neutrons one uses the following
relation:
= '% * (Fn)E,Z (rad) (2.8)
where 4) is the fluence of monoenergetic neutrons of energy E in neutronslcm' and
(Fn)E,zis the kerma factor for those neutrons in the irradiated material Z, so that
K is given directly in rads or centiGrays (cGy).
Likewise, for neutrons having an energy spectrum cP'(E)of particle fluence, Eq.
(2.5) can be replaced by
K = 1
P Em,
E=O
cP'(E) . (F,,)E,ZdE (rad)
where '%'(E)is commonly in units of neutronslcm' MeV, (Fn)E,Zrepresents tab-
ulated kerrna-factor values in rad cm'lneutron, and dE is expressed in MeV.
Tabulations of (Fn)E,Zfor a wide range of neutron energies and materials have
been published by Caswell et al. (1980); an extract of those tables is contained in
Appendix F. Future tables may be expressed in Gy rn'ln.
An average value of F, for the spectrum cP'(E) is given by
24 QUANTITIES FOR DESCRIBING THE INTERACTION OF IONIZING RADIATION
r
D. Components of Kerma
The kerma for x- or y-rays consists of the energy transferred to electrons and pos-
itrons per unit mass of medium. The kinetic energy of a fast electron may be spent
in two ways:
1. Coulomb-force interactions with atomic electrons of the absorbing material,
resulting in the local dissipation of the energy as ionization and excitation
in or near the electron track. These are called collision interactions.
2. Radiative interactions with the Coulomb force field of atomic nuclei, in which
x-ray photons (bremsstrahlung, or “braking radiation”) are emitted as the
electron decelerates. These x-ray photons are relatively penetrating com-
pared to electrons and they carry their quantum energy far away from the
charged-particle track.
In addition, a positron can lose an appreciable fraction of its kinetic energy through
in-flight annihilation, in which the kinetic energy possessed by the particle at the
instant of annihilation appears as extra quantum energy in the resulting photons.
Hence this is also a type of radiative loss of kinetic energy, in which the resulting
photons can carry kinetic energy away from the charged-particle track.
Since the kerma includes kinetic energy received by the charged particles whether
it is destined to be spent by the electrons in collision or radiative-type interactions,
we can subdivide K into two parts according to whether the energy is spent nearby
in creating excitation and ionization (K,)or is carried away by photons (K,):
K = K, + K, (2.10)
where the subscripts refer to ‘‘collision” and “radiative” interactions, respectively.
For the case of neutrons as the indirectly ionizing radiation, the resulting charged
particles are protons and heavier recoiling nuclei, for which K,is vanishingly small.
Thus K = K , for neutrons, and we need not consider the partition of K in that case.
It will be convenient in discussing the concept of charged-particle equilibrium
(CPE) in Chapter 4 if we now define the collision kmna (K,) in a manner corresponding
to that employed for K in Eqs. (2.1) and (2.2).
Let E:, be the related stochastic quantity called the nd en eu transferred, which can
r
be defined for a volume Vas
E:, = - (R,,,),”””‘ - R:
(Ri,,),, + CQ = E ~ , - R: (2.1 1)
where RI is the radiant energy emitted as radiative losses by the charged particles
11. KERMA 25
which themselves originated in V, regardless of where the radiative loss events occur.
This equation is identical to Eq. (2.1) except for the inclusion here of the term
RI; the remaining terms are defined as in Eq. (2.1). Thus eIrand K include energy
that goes to radiative losses, while and K, do not.
Now we can define K, at a point of interest P as
(2.12)
where e:* is now the expectation value of the net energy transferred in the finite volume
Vduring some time interval, uk:r is that for the infinitesimal volume dv at point P,
and dm is the mass in dv.
Thus the collision knma is the expectation value ofthe net energy tramfmed to chargedparticles
per unit mass at the point of interest, excluding both the radiative-loss energy and enmgy passed
from one charged partick? to another. The average value of K, throughout a volume con-
taining mass m is given by (e:r)e/m.
The radiative kerma K , need not be defined further than simply as the difference
between K and K,, as in Eq. (2.10). However it can be written as K , = dRL/dm, having
the same form as Eqs. (2.2) and (2.12).
For monoenergetic photons K, is related to the energy fluence Q by another en-
ergy- and material-dependent coefficient ( j ~ ~ , / pcalled ) ~ , ~the mass energy-absorption
co&ci.nt, so that the equation corresponding to Eq. (2.4) becomes
(2.13)
where the units are as given for Eq. (2.4). Likewise, for an energy spectrum \ k ' ( E ) ,
equations corresponding to (2.5) and (2.5a) can also be written for K, and
(peJp)* ,(.q,z, respectively.
The value of ( ~ ( ~ ~ atl appoint) ~ ,Pis
~ not only characteristic of the atomic number
2 of the material present there [as is the case for ( p , , / ~ ) ~ but , also dependent
, ~ ] is
to some degree upon the material present along the tracks of the electrons which
originate at P. This is because radiative energy losses by electrons are greater in
higher-Zmaterials, for which K , is larger and K,correspondingly less. All tabulations
of ( p , , , / ~ ) ~including
,~, those of Hubbell given in Appendix D.3, are based on the
assumption that the electrons spend their entire range in the same material in which
they started, i.e., that the point Pis not near a boundary with another medium. Also,
(p,,/p) for compounds usually has been calculated on the basis of weight fractions
of the elements present. Although this is correct for p,,./p, it is not strictly so for
pL,,/p, as will be discussed in Chapter 7.
(penlp)E,Zis close to (pI,./p)E,zin value for low 2 and E where radiative losses are
small; Table 2.1 lists the percentage by which (p,,Ip)E,z is less than ( ~ ~ , . / (and p ) ~ , ~
K,less than K ) for a few sample cases.
The relationship of ( ~ ~ , . / p and
) ~ , z(p,,lp)E,z to the basic interactions of photons
will be discussed in Chapter 7.
26 QUANTITIES FOR DESCRIBING THE INTERACTION OF IONIZING RADIATION
TABLE 2.1
~ ~~
Y-raY 100 (Ptl - PC"YPt*
Energy
(MeV) 2=6 29 82
0.1 0 0 0
1 .o 0 1.1 4.8
10 3.5 13.3 26
E. KermaRate
The kerma rate at a point P and time t [referring to Eq. (2.2)] is given by
K = - (2.14)
in units of Jlkg s preferred, erg/g s, or rads, with other time units often substituted.
Equation (2.14) can be used to define K for all times within some extended period
of irradiation, thus providing the kerma rate as a function oft, k(t).The kerma
occurring between selected time limits # .-, and t , will then be
W O , 4) = j: A(t) dt (2.15)
or, for a constant kerma rate,
K(t0, 4) = K-( 4 - 10) (2.16)
In this equation K may be replaced by 8,thereby defining that quantity as the
average value of K during the time interval 1, - .,t
111. ABSORBED DOSE
The absorbed dose is relevant to all types of ionizing radiation fields, whether directly
or indirectly ionizing, as well as to any ionizing radiation source distributed within
the absorbing medium.
A. Definition
The absorbed dose D can best be defined in terms of the related stochastic quantity
enngy imparted€ (ICRU, 1980). The energy imparted by ionizing radiation to matter
of mass m in a finite volume V i s defined as
where and CQare defined the same as for Eq. (2.1). (Rout), is the radiant energy
of all the uncharged radiation leaving V , ( is the radiant energy of the charged
IV. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES OF t, el., AND t:, 27
particles entering V, and (R,,,), is the radiant energy of the charged particles leaving
V. We can now define the absorbed dose D at any point P in V as
D = -de (2.18)
dm
where e is now the expectation value of the energy imparted in the finite volume V
during some time interval, d~ is that for an infinitesimal volume dv at point P, and
dm is the mass in dv.
Thus the absorbed dose D is the expectation valw of the energy imparted to mattcr per unit
mars at apoint. The dimensions and units of absorbed dose are the same as those used
for K. The average value of the absorbed dose throughout a volume containing
mass m is (e)Jrn. (e), = &I is also called the inkgral dose, expressed in units of g rad
or joules.
It should be recognized that D represents the energy per unit mass which remains
in the matter at P to produce any effects attributable to the radiation. Some kinds
of effects are proportional to D,while others depend on D in a more complicated
way. Nevertheless, if D = 0 there can be no radiation effect. Consequently, the ab-
sorbed dose is the most important quantity in radiological physics.
It is not possible to write an equation relating the absorbed dose directly to the
fluence or energy fluence of a field of indirectly ionizing radiation, as was done for
the kerma in Eqs. (2.4) and (2.8) and for collision kerma in Eq. (2.13). The absorbed
dose is not directly related to such a field, being deposited by the resulting secondary
charged-particles. The relation of absorbed dose to the fluence of charged particles
will be discussed in Chapter 8 .
8. Absorbed Dose Rate
The absorbed dose rate at a point P and time t is given by
D = - (2.19)
Equations corresponding to Eqs. (2.15) and (2.16) may also be written for the
absorbed dose, substituting D for K and D for 8. The time-averaged value of the
absorbed dose rate D may likewise be defined by an equation corresponding
to (2.16).
IV. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES OF ENERGY IMPARTED, ENERGY
TRANSFERRED, AND NET ENERGY TRANSFERRED
To see how these quantities can be applied, first consider Fig. 2 . 1 ~ Photon
. hv, is
shown entering volume V , and undergoing a Compton interaction which produces
scattered photon hv, and an electron with kinetic energy T.The electron is assumed
to produce one bremsstrahlung x-ray (hv,) before leaving V with remaining energy
28 QUANTITIES FOR DESCRIBING T H E INTERACTION OF IONIZING RADIATION
FIGURE 2. In. Illustration of the concepti of energy imparted, energy transferred, and net en-
ergy t r a n s f e d for the CPIC of a Compton interaction followed by bremrrtrablung emission (At-
tix, 1983).
T'. It then produces another x-ray (hu,). In this example the energy imparted, energy
transferred, and net energy transferred in V are, respectively,
E = h ~- +
, ( h ~ 2 h ~ 3 T') + +0
= hv, - hv2 f 0 = T
E:, = hv, - hv, - ( h ~ 3+ hv,) + 0
= T - (hv3 + hv4)
A second example is shown in Fig. 2.16, illustrating the significance of the C Q
term in Eqs. (2. l), (2.1 l), and (2.17). A y-ray hu, is emitted by a radioactive atom
in V. The photon undergoes pair production, giving kinetic energy TIto the electron
and T2to the positron. Both are assumed to run their course in V. The positron is
then annihilated and the resulting two photons(0.511 MeV each) are shown escaping
from V. For this case the quantities e, E , ~ ,and e,: are all equal, and are given in MeV
by
= etr = E:r = o - 1.022 MeV + CQ
where
CQ = hu, - 2%~' + 2m,,c2= hu,
Hence
c = etr = E;, = hv, - 1.022 MeV
= TI + T2
