Course Textbook
[Turner] = Turner, James. Atoms, Radiation, and Radiation Protection. 3rd ed. Wiley-VCH, 2007. ISBN: 9783527406067. [Preview with Google Books]
Assigned Readings
These readings are to be completed before each day’s class period.
| SES # | TOPICS | ASSIGNED READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Radioactive decay chains Half-life Geiger counter circuit theory |
[Turner] “The Nucleus and Nuclear Radiation.” Chapter 3, pp. 55–79. [Turner] “Activity” and “Exponential Decay.” Sections 4.1 and 4.2, pp. 83–85. Course notes: “Geiger-Müller Counter Circuit Theory.” (PDF) (Courtesy of Mark Chilenski. Used with permission.) |
| 2 |
Ionization Chamber and Geiger Tube Theory Dead time |
[Turner] “Methods of Radiation Detection.” Chapter 10, pp. 241–52. [Turner] “Dead Time” and “Instrument Response.” Section 11.12, pp. 339–42. |
| 3 | Shielding | [Turner] “Attenuation Coefficients.” Section 8.7, pp. 187–96. |
| 4 | Error and uncertainty | [Turner] “The Normal Distribution.” Section 11.6, pp. 315–35 |
Background and Supplemental Readings
[Turner] “About Atomic Physics and Radiation.” Chapter 1, pp. 1–13.
[Turner] “Physical Constants,” “Units and Conversion Factors,” and “Some Basic Formulas of Physics.” Appendices A, B, and C, pp. 551–56.
