RADIATION BEHAVIOR IN BIOLOGICAL COMPOUND: EXPLORING MASS ATTENUATION AND EFFECTIVE ATOMIC NUMBERS FOR GAMMA-RAY INTERACTIONS
This study involved the measurement of mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) for fatty acids across a range of photon energies (from 122 keV to 1330 keV). These measurements were conducted through transmission experiments employing collimated beams generated by 57Co, 133Ba, 22Na 137Cs, 54Mn, and 60Co sources, each producing beams with a diameter of 0.52 cm. The detection of attenuated radiation was achieved using a NaI (Tl) scintillation detector with an energy resolution of 8.2% at 663 keV. The obtained experimental values of (μ/ρ) were subsequently used to calculate the atomic cross-sections (σa), electronic crosssections (σe), effective atomic numbers (Zeff), and electron densities (Neff). Notably, the study revealed that (μ/ρ), σa, and σe exhibited an initial decrease with increasing photon energy, stabilizing at higher energy levels. In contrast, Zeff and Neff remained relatively constant with changing energy levels. In addition, the research acknowledged that deviations in experimental results for radiological parameters may be influenced by the physical and chemical surroundings of the substances under investigation. Encouragingly, the experimental findings were found to be consistent with values from the WinXCom database, affirming their accuracy and reliability. These outcomes contribute to a deeper understanding of the photon interaction characteristics of these biological substances across diverse energy spectra.
Keywords: Mass attenuation coefficient, Atomic cross-section, Electronic cross-section, Effective atomic number and, Effective electron density.