Bryn Mawr College Department of Physics Undergraduate Laboratories High Resolution Gamma Spectroscopy Introduction  In this experiment you will study the detection of (gamma) radiation using a  liquid nitrogen cooled detector. radiation is very high frequency  electromagnetic radiation. Since c = f for electromagnetic radiation, high frequency f   means the wavelength is very short since the product of and f is the constant speed of light c. In addition, quantum mechanics tells us that electromagnetic radiation comes in  quanta of energy E = h f where h is Planck's constant. So, high-frequency radiation 's means that the energy quanta are very large, large enough to ionize atoms. are emitted when unstable nuclei decay to other nuclei, sometimes by emitting electrons or  positrons and sometimes by emitting alpha particles (helium nuclei). Typically - radiation accompanies these modes of decay because the daughter nuclei are produced in  excited states. When the excited states decay to the ground states of the nuclei, 's with well-defined energies are emitted. Have a quick look at the electromagnetic spectrum in  the folder to see where 's fit into the range of electromagnetic radiation. Using Radioactive Isotopes Read the sheet that outlines the precautions about working with radioisotopes. We are Ci using one-microcurie (1 where Ci is the abbreviation for Curie) sources. This level of radioactivity is well below that which requires licensing or the wearing of film badges. The sources we use are encased in plastic and are stored in small heavy lead canisters. These sources come through the regular mail. When the time comes, ask an instructor to show you how to handle the samples. Part of the purpose of this lab is to become familiar with radioactive samples and to put the level of radioactivity encountered in this lab into context, given the natural background levels of radioactivity and those commonly used in medicine.
Bryn Mawr College Department of Physics Undergraduate Laboratories High Resolution Gamma Spectroscopy Introduction In this experiment you will study the detection of  (gamma) radiation using a liquid nitrogen cooled detector.  radiation is very high frequency electromagnetic radiation. Since c =  f for electromagnetic radiation, high frequency f means the wavelength  is very short since the product of  and f is the constant speed of light c. In addition, quantum mechanics tells us that electromagnetic radiation comes in quanta of energy E = h f where h is Planck's constant. So, high-frequency  radiation means that the energy quanta are very large, large enough to ionize atoms. 's are emitted when unstable nuclei decay to other nuclei, sometimes by emitting electrons or positrons and sometimes by emitting alpha particles (helium nuclei). Typically  - radiation accompanies these modes of decay because the daughter nuclei are produced in excited states. When the excited states decay to the ground states of the nuclei,  's with well-defined energies are emitted. Have a quick look at the electromagnetic spectrum in the folder to see where  's fit into the range of electromagnetic radiation. Using Radioactive Isotopes Read the sheet that outlines the precautions about working with radioisotopes. We are using one-microcurie (1 Ci where Ci is the abbreviation for Curie) sources. This level of radioactivity is well below that which requires licensing or the wearing of film badges. The sources we use are encased in plastic and are stored in small heavy lead canisters. These sources come through the regular mail. When the time comes, ask an instructor to show you how to handle the samples. Part of the purpose of this lab is to become familiar with radioactive samples and to put the level of radioactivity encountered in this lab into context, given the natural background levels of radioactivity and those commonly used in medicine.
expt11_hiResGamma_2013.docx