Abstract
Neutrons, by virtue of their neutrality, are indirectly ionizing radiation exhibiting a quasi-exponential penetration into an absorber and depositing energy in the absorber through a two-step process: (1) energy transfer to heavy charged particles and (2) energy deposition in the absorber through Coulomb interactions of these charged particles with atoms of the absorber. As they penetrate into matter, neutrons may undergo elastic and inelastic scattering as well as trigger nuclear reactions, such as neutron capture, spallation, and fission.
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Podgoršak, E.B. (2009). Interactions of Neutrons with Matter. In: Radiation Physics for Medical Physicists. Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00875-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00875-7_9
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-00874-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-00875-7
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