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GS02-1093 - Introduction to Medical Physics I
Basic Interactions
Problem Set 3.1d Solutions
1. (J & C 5.7) Aluminum has a density of 2699 kg/m3. The Compton coefficient per
atom is given in Table A-4e for 1.5 MeV photons as 2.232 10-28 m2/atom. Express
this coefficient in m2/electron, cm2/g, m-1. (Use Table 5-3 or the top of Table A-4e.)
To convert from atomic Compton coefficient to electronic Compton coefficient,

we must divide the atomic Compton coefficient by the number of electrons per
atom, Z, which, for aluminum, is 13.
2.232 10 -28 m 2 atom -1

-1
= 1.72 10 - 29 m 2 electron -1
13 electron atom
To convert to mass Compton coefficient, we must multiply the electronic

Compton coefficient by the electron density, which, according to Table A-4e, is
2.902 1026 electrons kg-1. We must then convert m2 to cm2 and kg to g with
appropriate conversion factors.
1.72 10 -29 m 2 electron -1 2.902 10 26 electron kg -1 10 -3 kg g -1 10 4 cm 2 m -2

= 4.98 10 - 2 cm 2 g -1
To convert to linear Compton coefficient, we must multiply the mass Compton

coefficient by the mass density, which is 2699 kg m-3. We must convert cm2 back
to m2, and g to kg as well.
0.0498 cm 2 g -1 2699 kg m -1 103 g kg -1 10 -4 m 2 cm -2

= 13.45 m -1
2. (J & C 5.10) A beam of photons with energy 100 keV suffers Compton collisions.
Find the minimum energy of the scattered radiation, the maximum energy the recoil
electron may acquire, and the mean energy of the recoil electron.
The maximum energy transfer to the electron will occur when the electron is
scattered in a forward direction and the photon is scattered backward. The
minimum photon energy is given by
1
hn min = hn
1 + 2
1
= 100 keV
100
1+ 2
511
100
= keV
1.391
= 71.9 keV
The maximum energy of the recoil electron is given by
2a
h max = h
1 + 2a
100
2
= 100 keV 511
100
1+ 2
511
100 0.391
= keV
1.391
= 28.1 keV
(We note that if we add the two energies, we get 100 keV, which is the energy of
the incident photon beam.)
To obtain the mean energy of the recoil electron, we use J & C equation 6-15.
tr
Etr = h

For 100 keV photons in a free-electron gas, we have
0.0680
Etr = 100 keV
0.4927
= 13.8 keV
3. (J & C 5.12) A slab of carbon of thickness 3 1023 electrons per cm2 is bombarded
by 106 photons of energy 1.0 MeV. Calculate the number of Compton interactions,
the energy diverted from the beam, the energy transferred to kinetic energy of
charged particles, and the energy scattered. Make an energy balance.
The number of photons undergoing no Compton interactions is given by N=N0e-mx,

so the number of photons undergoing a Compton interaction is given by NC =
N0(1-e-mx). From Table A-2a, the Compton coefficient for 1 MeV photons is
0.2112 10-28 m2 electron-1, so
m2 electron 4 cm
2
mx = 0.2112 10 28 3 10 23 10
electron cm 2 m2
= 0.0634
(
N C = 10 6 1 e 0.0634 )
= 10 6 (0.0614 )
= 6.14 10 4
Note that the target is thick, so it is not completely correct to use a linear
approximation.
The energy diverted from the beam is the 1.0 MeV beam energy multiplied by the
number of Compton interactions, or 6.14 104 MeV.
The energy transferred to charged particles is the average energy transferred by a

Compton interaction multiplied by the number of Compton interactions. The
average energy transferred by a Compton interaction for 1.0 MeV photons is
given in Table A-2a as 0.440 MeV, so the energy transferred to charged particles
is 2.70 104 MeV.
The energy scattered is equal to the energy diverted that is not transferred to
charged particles, or (6.14 2.70) 104 MeV = 3.44 104 MeV.
4. (J & C 6.10) A detector of area 2.5 cm2 is placed 30 cm from a block of scattering
material containing 1023 electrons/cm2. A beam of 106 photons with 1 MeV energy
bombards the block. The detector is placed along a line making an angle of 45 with
the direction of the photon beam. Find the number of scattered photons that reach the
detector (use Fig. 6-4)
The number of scattered photons reaching the detector, N, is the product of the
number of incident photons, , the number of electrons in the target, Ne, the
differential scatter cross-section, and the solid angle subtended by the detector.
The differential scatter cross-section, as taken from Fig 6-4, is 2.7510-30 m2
electron-1 steradian-1, for 1 MeV photons scattered an angle of 45. So,
ds ( )
N = N e
d
electron 30 m2 2.5 4 cm
2
= 106 10 23 2 . 75 10 steradian 10
cm 2 electron steradian 30 2 m2
= 7.64
5. (J & C 6.11) A beam of 106 photons with energy 0.8 MeV bombards a block of
scattering material containing 1023 electrons/cm2. Find the number of electrons
produced with energies in the range of 0.2 to 0.25 MeV (use Fig. 6-5)
The number of electrons produced in an energy interval, N, is the product of the

number of incident photons, , the number of electrons in the target, Ne, the
differential (energy) scatter cross-section, and the energy interval. The
differential (energy) scatter cross section for 0.8 MeV photons in the range of
energies 0.2 MeV to 0.25 MeV, as taken from Fig 6-5, is approximately 38 10-30
m2 electron-1 MeV-1. So,
d
N = N e T
dT
electron 30 m2 4 cm
2
= 106 10 23 38 10 0 . 05 MeV 10
cm 2 electron MeV m2
= 1.9 103

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GS02-1093 - Introduction to Medical Physics I

To convert from atomic Compton coefficient to electronic Compton coefficient,

2.232 10 -28 m 2 atom -1

To convert to mass Compton coefficient, we must multiply the electronic

1.72 10 -29 m 2 electron -1 2.902 10 26 electron kg -1 10 -3 kg g -1 10 4 cm 2 m -2

To convert to linear Compton coefficient, we must multiply the mass Compton

0.0498 cm 2 g -1 2699 kg m -1 103 g kg -1 10 -4 m 2 cm -2

The maximum energy of the recoil electron is given by

For 100 keV photons in a free-electron gas, we have

The number of photons undergoing no Compton interactions is given by N=N0e-mx,

The energy transferred to charged particles is the average energy transferred by a

The number of electrons produced in an energy interval, N, is the product of the

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