Gamma Rays Absorbed by High Density Material

Gamma rays are better absorbed by materials with high atomic numbers and high density, such as tungsten alloy material. Although neither effect is important compared to the total mass per area in the path of the gamma ray. For this reason,lead shield is only modestly better (20–30% better) as a gamma shield, than an equal mass of another shielding material such as aluminium, concrete, water or soil, lead's major advantage is not in lower weight, but rather its compactness due to its higher density. Therefore, tungsten alloy material is better in its high density,good radiation absorption, etc.

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Tungsten and Radiation

Hey guys, I'm studying in physics recently.

Okay, here's my idea: We use lead to protect us from gamma radiation because it's dense enough to somewhat absorb the tiny wave length.

As I take it, tungsten is more dense than lead, right? Wouldn't it be safer to use tungsten instead of lead? (Looking away from the price aspect, of course...)

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Tungsten Alloy Radiation Parts

Tungsten alloys are used for radioactive source containers, gamma ray protection, radiation shields, x-ray shielding and source holders for oil-well, logging, and industrial instrumentation.

A particularly dense material with excellent shielding properties is needed to ensure that the surrounding tissue is protected and the radiation guided only to the intended locations--High density tungsten alloys are widely used as Medical and Industrial Radiation Shielding.

Chinatungsten's tungsten alloys are used for radioactive source containers, which can to be made as collimator and shielding for cancer therapy machines, and as syringe protection for radioactive injections.

There is no licensing required for tungsten alloy materials. Tungsten alloys are stable at high temperatures.

Non-Radioactive Tungsten Materials

Two significant alternative, non-radioactive tungsten materials have been developed. The first one, introduced in the 1980's, is most commonly available as 2% ceriated tungsten. This material is commonly used for lower amperage DC welding applications. In fact, it holds a very high market share in sales for the orbital welding process.

More recently, 1½% lanthanated tungsten has emerged as what could be the future standard for tungsten electrodes. The 1½% by weight content (as opposed to 2%) was chosen by three of the largest manufacturers as the optimum content amount based on scientific studies which showed that this content amount most closely mirrors the conductivity characteristics of 2% thoriated tungsten. Therefore, welders can usually easily replace their radioactive 2% thoriated material with this tungsten and not have to make any welding program changes. In addition, since the lanthanum oxide material is less dense that thorium oxide, a stick of 1½% (by weight) lanthanated tungsten actually contains 15% more oxides by volume than a stick of 2% (by weight) thoriated tungsten. This aids in arc starting and stability, as well as longevity, because the additional volume of oxides keep the tip cooler.

Finally, 1½% lanthanated tungsten is suitable for both AC and DC welding applications. Therefore, facilities that stock both 2% thoriated tungsten for DC welding and another tungsten type (usually pure or zirconiated tungsten) for AC welding, could stock only one tungsten type.