MEDPHYS 4RA3
RADIATION AND RADIOISOTOPE METHODOLOGY I
Fall 2026 · Radiation and Radioisotope Methodology · C01
Topics
- Radioactivity
- Radioactive decay, radiation field and interaction quantities, radioactivity production
- Saturated activity, growth of daughter activities, transient equilibrium, secular equilibrium.
- General categories and properties of radiation detectors
- Radiation interactions, current and pulse modes, energy resolution,
- detection efficiency, solid angle
- General properties of radiation detectors
- Statistics of counting data (Poisson distribution, time-interval statistics), dead time models, detection limit.
- Gamma-ray spectrometry with scintillators
- Gamma-ray interactions: photoelectric absorption, Rayleigh scattering, Compton scattering, Klein-Nishina differential cross section, pair production, annihilation photons.
- Detector response: full-energy peak, single escape and double escape peaks, Compton continuum, x-ray escape peak.
- Spectrum analysis methods.
- Scintillation detectors
- Inorganic scintillator: energy band structure, activators, emission spectra.
- Organic scintillators: fluorescence mechanism.
- Photosensors: quantum efficiency, photomultiplier tube, photodiodes, silicon photomultiplier tube, statistics of electron multiplication.
- Gas-filled detectors
Readings
- MEDPHYS 4RA3 Lecture Notes
- Lab Manuals
- Radiation Detection and MeasurementWiley
- Radiation Detection
- Lab Manuals Edition: 2026 Available on Avenue
- Radiation Detection and Measurement Authors: Glenn Knoll Publisher: Wiley Publication Date: 2010 Edition: 4th Recommended
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- Campus Store (short title) ↗
- Campus Store reading list ↗Fall 2025
- Course outline / syllabus ↗Fall 2026