This method consists of simulating the interaction processes of gamma rays induced by neutron activation of various samples by using the Monte Carlo method adapted to experimental conditions. Murray [9] showed that this is verified if the dosimeter mass is greater than 100mg. However, in most cases, the contribution of these three radioelements does not exceed 60% and approximate values on the whole with acceptable dispersion may be proposed. , Uses, Examples of. Unlike charged particles that gradually loses up their energy to matter, when gamma rays traverse matter, some are absorbed, some pass through without interaction, and some are scattered as lower energy photons. Gamma rays are used in medicine (radiotherapy), industry (sterilization and disinfection) and the nuclear industry. The gamma radiations are constituted by photons, characterized by their energy, inversely proportional to their wavelength. *Address all correspondence to: hassane@uca.ac.ma, Use of Gamma Radiation Techniques in Peaceful Applications. These corrections are related to the complexity of the energy spectrum gamma radiation incidents; their origins are: The difference in composition between TL dosimeter and the soil, resulting in absorption and therefore deposited different doses, especially for an energies less than 100keV. The thermoluminescence dating method (TL) requires a very accurate knowledge of the annual radiation doses deposited, in the minerals that are used, by the alpha, beta, gamma and cosmic rays [5, 6]. The book covers an Although linear attenuation coefficients are convenient for engineering applications and shielding calculations, they are proportional to the density of the absorber, which depends on the physical state of the material. Built by scientists, for scientists. But as this dose is not valid for the dosimeter itself, corrections must be made to know the one corresponding to the soil. To make lasers for use in a surgery room Things like supernova explosions (the way massive stars die), neutron It is therefore continuously advancing technologically and new methods of treatment with gamma rays are being developed at a rapid rate. We can no longer talk about a slowdown. is today radio-sterilized by specialized industrialists. Gamma Rays Uses. We are IntechOpen, the world's leading publisher of Open Access books. Standards were prepared by mixing pure graphite and high purity chemical compounds powders (NaCl, Na2HPO4 and K2CO3) [14]. the Vela satellite series, originally military satellites, X-rays and gamma rays are created in power plants for nuclear energy, and are also used in smaller amounts for medical imaging tests, cancer treatment, food irradiation, and airport security scanners. In the second part, the calculation method was developed. light-years of Earth. In many alpha and beta transitions, the residual nucleus is formed in an excited state. Then, someone with a Geiger-Muller tube above-ground will measure the radiation given off. The mass attenuation coefficient of a compound or a mixture can be, therefore, calculated from the mass attenuation coefficient of the components [1]. These spectra show the overlapping of the primary ray spectrum and the degraded continuous spectrum, which carry most of the energy (60%). The calculation of the paths lengths l1 and 12 consists firstly on generating random numbers by using a programme based on a congruentia 1 method. The deceleration of the electron is accompanied by a loss of energy in the form of gamma radiation when the electron has a relativistic speed. Scientists believe that a gamma-ray burst X-rays and other forms of radiation also have a variety of therapeutic uses. We use it to see. 2. Similar to X-rays, gamma rays can get past even some of the densest materials in use, making them both a great benefit and a hazard. Unlike optical light and X-rays, gamma rays cannot be captured and (a) The most common transition is the emission of electromagnetic radiation, called gamma radiation. Gamma rays have characteristics identical to X-rays of the same frequencythey differ only in source. Gamma-rays travel to us across vast distances of the universe, only to be It is thus known as non-destructive because it respects the integrity of the object to be analyzed [4]. Among thousands of gamma emitters only 137Cs and 60Co are indicated for radiation processing. For the photoelectric effect, they were deduced from the data of Hubbell [12]. Uses of gamma rays in everyday life 1:Radio Therapy X-rays kill the diseased tissues of the body. Gamma-rays are a kind of penetrating electromagnetic radiation that is produced from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei, e.g., in The total mass attenuation coefficient / is also proportional to the total cross section per atom tot2. It is very accurate, rapid, adapted to the experimental conditions, it does not necessitate the use of a very expensive detection chain, and can be used to determine the trace element concentrations in materials. Our team is growing all the time, so were always on the lookout for smart people who want to help us reshape the world of scientific publishing. Gamma-rays are sometimes used to treat cancerous tumors in the body by damaging the DNA of the tumor cells. Calculations are performed here with, as a TL dosimeter, CaSO4: Dy, but are readily feasible for any combination of known dosimeters and compositions. They are used to treat malignant tumours in radiotherapy. Aerial and ground-based gamma-ray spectroscopy is employed to support geologic mapping, mineral exploration, and identification of environmental contamination. When used in this way, they are most often intended to kill cancerous tissue, reduce the size of a tumor, or reduce pain. The relative energies and intensities of the lines taken into consideration are given in Table 1 [10]. The total linear attenuation coefficient, compound or mixture of the compound or mixture can then be simply found by multiplying the total mass attenuation coefficient, (/)compound with its density, . To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. These rays are now widely used in industrial and commercial purposes. Just like gamma rays, x-rays cant be seen, felt or heard. Gamma rays are the result of the radioactive decay of the nucleus of an atom. Because the photons comprising gamma radiation are so energetic, their effect on human health is profound. Thus, energy electrons 3108MeV in a magnetic field of 3106 Gauss will create a gamma radiation. So Values of for infinite uniform medium with 1gm2 capsule wall thickness [5]. Gamma rays are ionizing electromagnetic radiation, obtained by the decay of an atomic nucleus. Gamma rays are more penetrating, in matter, and can damage living cells to a great extent. The interactions of gamma rays with the material taken into consideration are the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect; the pair production is considered negligible to the considered energies (<2.6MeV). 1)It is used for treatment of cancerous cell in our body without the use of the surgery. In applying formula Eq. (16) and Eq. The most intense sources of gamma rays are radioactive sources. (9), the main difficulty lies in the calculation of the incident photon flux density (E). The first group includes potassium (40K) with a half-life of 1.3109years, uranium-238 (238U) with a half-life of 4.4109years, uranium-235 (238U) with a half-life of 7.1108years and thorium (232Th) with a half-life of 1.41010years. This program results in determining the energy loss predominant phenomenon that occurs when gamma rays interact with the absorber. The linear attenuation coefficient is inversely proportional to a quantity called a half-value layer (HVL), which is the material thickness needed to attenuate the intensity of the incident photon beam to half of its original value. Inverse Compton effect: During a collision with low energy photon, a relativistic electron can transfer to it a significant part of its energy, the photon can then have an energy of 100MeV. The detection of gamma rays require a special kind of detector, called gamma rays telescope which the uses Compton Scattering process to detect gamma rays. a. Gamma Rays Uses The gamma rays have several uses. The measured Nm and calculated Nc activities of some different irradiated standards containing Na, K, Cl, and P are shown in Table 4 . The leak will be identified wherever the count on the Geiger-Muller tube spikes, indicating a large presence of gamma radiation coming out of the pipes. Relationship between the linear attenuation coefficient and the HVL for a soft tissue. X-rays and gamma rays are both types of high energy (high frequency) electromagnetic radiation. TL dosimeter irradiated by an incident -ray flux. This indicates that atomic composition dependence of is uncorrelated to the term e, and is related to the term tot2. We have to introduce the attenuation notion. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Three types of radiations are emitted from radioactive elements that are Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiations. Properties of Alpha Beta and Gamma Rays. Gamma rays are emitted from radioactive forms of the element cobalt (Cobalt 60) or of the element cesium (Cesium 137). There is a similarity in the degraded spectrum, even for two very different gamma sources (for example, thorium and potassim-40). In the first part of the chapter, a careful study of the correcting factors linked to the environmental and experimental conditions is performed. Food irradiation is the process of exposing food and food packaging to ionizing radiation, such as from gamma rays, x-rays, or electron beams, without direct contact to the food product. absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. This technique is a good test for neutron activation analysis experiments. reflected in mirrors. This measurement technics exploits a fundamental property observed for unstable nuclei: the emission of radiation from the process of nuclear decay. Unlike optical light and X-rays, gamma rays cannot be captured and By sending these cells a certain dose of radiation, it is possible to kill them and eliminate the tumor. Gamma radiation is teratogenic, and pregnant women exposed to gamma radiation have an increased risk for birth defects when they deliver. In general, it is difficult to determine the respective contribution of the potassium-40, uranium and thorium series to the total dose rate. Irradiation of surgical and food material: Irradiation is a privileged means to destroy micro-organisms (fungi, bacteria, virus). There are lights like an electric bulb, fireworks and other sources of light rays, with their shiny rays, we can see things and make a dark room visible. The interaction probability of a gamma photon after crossing a path l2=Q2S2 ( Figure 7 ) in a disk shaped detector of radius R2 in cm, depth e in cm and density 2 in g.cm3 is given by: where 2 is the total attenuation coefficient of the gamma photon in the detector. The radionuclides measured by this method emit gamma photons of specific energies and their interactions with the detector depend on several variables (geometry or conditioning: physical shape of the object, density, measured quantity, container type, emission energy, size, shape, nature of the detector, etc.). Computed energy spectra for 40K in (a) dry C soil, (b) wet S soil, and (c) pure water [5]. will occur once every few million years here in the Milky Way, and in fact Advantages of gamma rays compared with X-rays No electrical or water supplies needed Equipment smaller and lighter More portable Equipment simpler and How? This is due to a smaller contribution of low energies to the 40K spectrum (no low energy lines). Gamma rays also stream from stars, supernovas, pulsars, and black hole accretion disks to wash our sky with gamma-ray light. photons! The different parameters of the nuclear reactions used (cross section, isotopic abundance, etc.) Another advantage is that owing to the higher dose rate, less exposure time is needed, lowering the potential for degradation to polymers. sources of these enigmatic high-energy flashes remain a mystery. The gamma radiation self-absorption coefficient is of great interest in activation analysis. They are therefore often used to fight cancer and to sterilise food, and kinds of medical equipment that would either melt or become compromised by bleaches and other disinfectants. *Response times vary by subject and question complexity. Uses of Gamma Radiation. The photons resulting from de-excitation of nuclei have energies ranging from less than 1 to about 20MeV. The -decay of the 60Co to 60Ni produces a double radiation emission of 1.17 and 1.33MeV. Gamma-rays are Studied for over 25 years now The interaction of gamma rays with matter may be divided into three main categories depending on the energy of the photon. After one interaction, the energy spectrum of secondary -rays will be: And the ratio of secondary to primary -rays is: In the same way, the spectrum of third generation -rays can be deduced from N2 (E), and in a more general manner the following recurrence relations hold: Of course, there is a rapid decrease with i of the mean energy and of the total energy carried. Gamma radiation is used in the treatment of cancer, testing equipment and a. Since the energy of photonsis proportional to their frequency and inver The Synchrotron radiation: A relativistic electron spiraling through the force lines of a magnetic field radiates electromagnetic energy. including Soviet Venera spacecraft and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, the It is now used in a wide variety of sectors (for example: dating, climatology, astrophysics, medicine) and in virtually all stages of the fuel cycle. Brief introduction to this section that descibes Open Access especially from an IntechOpen perspective, Want to get in touch? Another common use of gamma rays is in the treatment of certain types of cancer. For example, most medical-surgical equipment (disposable syringes, etc.) This technics is also known as food ionization. Gamma rays ionize living tissue, causing cancer Gamma rays were first detected from astronomical sources in the 1960s, and gamma-ray astronomy is now a It is therefore a much lighter and less demanding procedure in computer time than the Monte-Carlo method for a similar definition. The second group includes radioactive isotopes from the first group. Electromagnetic radiation vanishes brutally as a result of interaction. Gamma Rays: Applications in Environmental Gamma Dosimetry and Determination Samples Gamma-Activities Induced by Neutrons, Use of Gamma Radiation Techniques in Peaceful Applications, Basim A. Almayah, IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.85503. Gamma-rays can kill living cells, a fact which medicine uses to its advantage, using gamma-rays to kill cancerous cells. Here one assumes an infinite environment and homogeneous, in which the radioelements are evenly distributed. Since it is difficult to measure this coefficient, various calculation methods have been developed. The produced nuclear reactions by irradiating the samples (standards) with 14 MeV neutrons. Only an absorber such as a lead block or a thick concrete block can stop their transmission. including Soviet Venera spacecraft and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, the The third group will include it isotopes created by external causes, such as the interaction of cosmic rays with the earth and its atmosphere. Some that come to mind: * Medical (therapeutic and diagnostic): Gamma Knives [1], Cobalt radiation therapy [2], and Nuclear Medicine [3] (diagnostic and interventional medicine), and PET scan imaging [4]. Natural gamma radiation sources can be easily divided into three groups according to their origin. Detectors on board For the uranium series, the contribution of uranium-235 and its descendants were taken into account. Similar features are also noticed for the more complex case of U and Th series. Radiation therapy, or radiation oncology, utilises gamma radiation to kill or control malignant tumours in the body. external dose: deposited by the long range radiations (gamma rays and cosmic) coming out of the surroundings of the sample. Medical Treatment Applications. may occur once every several hundred million years within a few thousand Nucleus de-excitation: Just like an atom or a molecule, a nucleus has energy levels whose transitions between the least excited levels give rise to gamma radiation. The more range of gamma rays in the absorber is long, the more the interaction probability increases. Instruments aboard high-altitude balloons and satellites like the In those situations, a gamma ray source is placed into the substance flowing through the pipe. For treatment deep within the body, high energy photons are sent to reach the target tumour without affecting the surrounding tissue. Similar to X-rays, gamma rays can get past even some of the densest materials in use, making them both a great benefit and a hazard. Irradiation of art objects: Treatment with gamma rays helps to eliminate larvae, insects or bacteria lived inside objects, to protect them from degradation. Gamma rays are ionizing radiation which can kill living cells. Gamma radiation is the most penetrative type of energy currently known. such a device. Gamma-ray bursts can release more energy in 10 They have many of the same uses as X-rays, including cancer therapy. gamma sterilization requires time, contact and temperature. Older literature distinguished between X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10 m, defined as gamma rays. with instruments on board a variety of satellites and space probes, They pass through most types of materials. The probability which has a photon of energy given to undergo an interaction during the penetrating in a given material is represented by the attenuation coefficient for this material absorber. Computed energy spectra for 232Th in pure water [5]. The nucleus can lose its excitation energy and move to a fundamental level in several ways. r2 is the distance from the axis of the detector and: To complete this study, we have developed another program based on the EGC method [18]. The gamma-ray moon just looks like a (E) includes not only the discrete primary emission spectrum of the considered source, but also the continuum spectrum of rays from successive Compton interactions. knowledge of the origins of the Universe, the rate at which the Universe is Thus. uses of gamma rays, inside the E-Cat emit low-level gamma rays. *Response times vary by subject and question complexity. On the other hand, the degraded spectrum is higher in energy as the of the medium is high: this is due to the increasing influence of the photoelectric effect which cuts the low gamma ray energy. In fact, formula Eq. Gamma radiation from radioactive materials is used in nuclear medicine. During radiation therapy, high doses of ionizing radiation (much higher than those used for imaging tests) are directed at the cancer, resulting in the death of the cancer cells. Both of these electromagnetic rays are high-energy electromagnetic rays. deep space! Gamma-ray telescopes use a process called Compton scattering, Gamma rays are used in treating serious health problems such as cancer. GAMMA RAY SKY. Gamma rays are widely used in medicine and specifically in the area of oncology to treat malignant and cancerous tumors during a process called gamma knife surgery. Q: What is the equivalent resistance between points a and b, if R = 30 ohms? Uses of gamma radiation. Because the photons comprising gamma radiation are so energetic, their effect on human health is profound. Figure 2 shows the relationship between the linear attenuation coefficient and the HVL for a soft tissue [3]. In high-energy gamma rays, the Moon is actually brighter than the quiet Sun. X-rays are very good in this respect simply because of their ability to penetrate solid objects and view the insides of these objects. This technics is used in the treatment of conservation and restoration of arts objects, ethnology and archaeology. It is applicable to different types of materials: wood, stone, leather, etc. For the use of these formulas, it is assumed that there is an electronic equilibrium, that is, the dimensions of the dosimeter are equal to or greater than the secondary electron range (of the order of a few mm). In practice, the limestone soil and the siliceous soil are two extreme cases, which make only a difference of 5% for copper on the value of , so only a coarse knowledge of the cashing medium is necessary for the calculation of e with an high accuracy. X-rays are a type of electromagnetic rays, which are used for medical purposes, and gamma rays are widely used in observational astronomy. Gamma-rays coming from space are mostly absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere.So gamma-ray astronomy could not develop until it was possible to get our detectors above all or most of the atmosphere, using balloons or spacecraft. Linear attenuation coefficient of NaI showing contributions from photoelectric absorption, Compton scattering, and pair production [2]. * Industrial: Nuclear power plants [5]. Uses of Gamma Radiation. 2019 The Author(s). (c) Finally, if the available energy is greater than 2mec2 = 1022 keV, the excited nucleus can create a pair (e+, e). The total attenuation coefficients are calculated by using respectively the Klein-Nishina theory formula [12], Allen Brodskys approximation [15], and Max Borns approximation [16], for the Compton, photoelectric and pair production effects. The meson (0) then disintegrates into two photons. Lead shielding surrounding the reactor said on his blog. This means that when =HVL, N0N=12. Help us write another book on this subject and reach those readers. Production of meson 0 : A meson can be produced during reactions of several types: Collision between two protons or a proton and alpha (helium nucleus). However, while gamma rays penetrate many materials, this does not make them radioactive. Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. where a gamma-ray strikes an electron and loses energy, similar to a cue It is non-destructive and does not require specific sample preparation. A few months after the discovery of X-rays, there is over a century, it has become clear that biological action radiation could be used in the treatment of cancers. The high-energy photons would pass right through There are three sources of radiation approved for use on foods. What are some uses of gamma ray emitters? In this type of treatment, concentrated beams of gamma rays are directed at tumors in order to kill cancerous cells. And for 232Th in pure water ( Figure 6 ). Gamma-rays damage the cancerous cells' DNA, causing them to die or reproduce more slowly. The excess energy appears as a kinetic form. began to record bursts of gamma-rays -- not from Earth, but from This method consists of simulating the process of interaction of gamma rays induced by irradiation of various samples. The first gamma-ray telescope carried into orbit, on the Explorer 11 satellite in 1961, picked up fewer than 100 cosmic gamma-ray photons. such a device. The penetrating power of gamma rays has many applications. Computed spectra of secondary -rays from 40K after 1, 2, 5, 10 Compton interactions [5]. Gamma rays When gamma rays are used as medical tracers, a chemical containing the rays is injected into the body of a patient.