Estimiting the half - value layer thikness Lab Report

Estimiting the half - value layer thikness - Lab Report Example Alpha particles are easily shielded thus they will present no external radiation hazard. The thickness of material of 50% of the underlying incident energy has been attenuated and known as half-value layer (HVL) and it is normally expressed in either mm or cm. Photo energy is normally dependent on the increasing energy of the stream of photons thus resulting to increase in material HVL. The experimental equipment was outlined as shown in the figure below. The radioactive sources are encapsulated in thin metal shield that absorbs beta radiation accompanying the decay. The alpha radiation is solely slightly attenuated but the beta radiation. Every source is contained within a cylindrical lead radiation shield in order to eradicate eminent health hazards Measurement was performed to verify the statistics of the prevailing pulse counting (cf Data examination). Cs-137 source was used and mounted on a single lead slab amidst sources and corresponding GM-tube X-rays are normally absorbed in an exponential manner A= A0e(-0692h/H where A0 is the original x-ray intensity, A is the x-ray intensity transmitted via an absorber of thickness x,e is the natural logarithm system and  µ is the slope of the underlying absorption curve(normally linear attenuation coefficient measured in per cm). Linear attenuation coefficient is associated to the corresponding density of the absorber. The half-value layer is normally the thickness of the radiation absorbing material that reduces x-ray intensity by  ½. Based on the value from the slope of the natural log plot, the thickness of aluminium and wood in regard to reduction of the gamma beam intensity from the radioactive Cs-137 source to the corresponding its initial intensity. The main human error was random error from the experimenter thus I can be controlled by taking many readings. For a thickness of 2HVL the corresponding photon intensity was reduced by  ¼ of the initial value whilst for a