Abstract
All particulate and electromagnetic radiations can interact with the atoms of an absorber during their passage through it, producing ionization and excitation of the absorber atoms. These radiations are called ionizing radiations. Because particulate radiations have mass and electromagnetic radiations do not, the latter travel through matter longer distance before losing all energy than the former of the same energy. Electromagnetic radiations are therefore called penetrating radiations and particulate radiations non-penetrating radiations. The mechanisms of interaction with matter, however, differ for the two types of radiation, and therefore they are discussed separately.
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Saha, G.B. (2013). Interaction of Radiation with Matter. In: Physics and Radiobiology of Nuclear Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4012-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4012-3_6
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