What Are X-Rays And Gamma Rays?

There are many different types of radiation – from the light that comes from the sun to the heat that is constantly coming off our bodies. But when talking about radiation and cancer risk, it is often x-rays and gamma rays that people think about.

X-rays and gamma rays can come from natural sources, such as radon gas, radioactive elements in the earth, and cosmic rays that hit the earth from outer space. But this type of radiation can also be man-made. X-rays and gamma rays are created in power plants for nuclear energy, and are also used in smaller amounts for medical imaging tests, cancer treatment, food irradiation, and airport security scanners.

X-rays and gamma rays are both types of high energy (high frequency) electromagnetic radiation. They are packets of energy that have no charge or mass (weight). These packets of energy are known as photons. Because X-rays and gamma rays have the same properties and health effects, they are grouped together in this document.

There is one type of the most suitable material for radiation protection, which is tungsten alloy material; you could get more information from http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/en/alloy07.htm.

Distinguish Between Gamma Ray &X-Ray

Gamma rays are distinguished from X-rays by their origin. Gamma rays are produced in nuclear processes such as radioactivity, or electron-positron annihilation. X-rays are produced by accelerated electrons. There is an overlap between the highly energetic X-rays and the low energetic gamma rays.
In terms of energy gamma rays reside at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum and can carry energies upward of roughly 100 keV.
To be able to observe gamma rays from objects in the Universe, the detector needs to be above the main part of the Earth's atmosphere because the atmosphere efficiently absorbs the gamma-ray photons. Early observations of gamma rays were done by airborne telescopes on-board airplanes and balloons, and were followed by dedicated satellites in Earth orbit.
Tungsten alloy material is very suitable material for the related radiation protection as its high density.

Tungsten Alloy Shielding for Gamma Sources of Cesium 137

A new technology for gamma shielding is already used as tungsten alloy material radiation protection. There is a research for special tungsten alloy material for gamma sources of Cesium 137, which is a lead-free radiation protective fabric in a form of a blanket created with nanotechnology. It could reduce emission from high energy gamma sources such as Cesium 137. Such material might be hidden beneath the silicon ceramic or inside of the cylindrical body of E-cat HT where the heaters are placed.
As its high density, good machinability, high hardness, excellent elongation, wear resistance, tungsten alloy material is more and more popular for gamma sources shielding and protection. For more details, you could visit http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/tungsten-alloy-radiation-shielding.html.

Tungsten Alloy Shielding for Gamma Radiation

Gamma rays emitted from the nickel nanopowder that is closer to the cylindrical enclosure will be stronger. From the publicly released information by Focardi and Rossi it is known that a small gamma radiation exists. For this purpose the E-cat described in the Rossi patent contains a lead jacket. For the E-cat HT reactors that were tested by G. Levi et al., however, a lead jacket was not noticed. This does not mean that there is not any radiation shield. With the advancement of nanotechnology a new way of effective gamma radiation shield is developed. This has been in focus of NASA research for years.
Tungsten alloy material is suitable for gamma radiation protection, for more details, you could visit http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/tungsten-alloy-radiation-shielding.html.

Gamma Radiation from the Nickel Nanopowder

For gamma energy in the order of 6 MeV, the wavelength is about 0.2 pm. This wavelength is a few orders smaller than the gaps between the nanopowder particles. The gas occupying the gaps has a refractive index close to one, while the refractive index of the nanoparticle material for the wavelength of 0.2 pm is much higher. Then the emitted gamma rays from the nickel nanopowder in the bulk will undergo multiple reflections, refractions and absorption, so the energy they loose will be converted to heat. Some proper attenuated gamma rays will produce Rydberg hydrogen that is useful for the cold fusion. Only not absorbed attenuated gamma rays may escape the fuel powder, so they must be shielded.
Tungsten alloy material is suitable for gamma radiation protection, for more details, you could visit http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/tungsten-alloy-radiation-shielding.html.

X-ray Output & Tungsten Alloy Anode

The area over which the electrons from the cathode strike tungsten alloy anode is referred to as the focal spot. The cooler the anode can be kept, the smaller the focal spot can be and the greater the image detail that is possible. If a high X-ray output is required, a larger focal spot would be needed to mitigate the temperature increase.

In the early tubes the angle of the target was usually 45 degrees (see figure below left). Later tubes often employed the so-called line-focus principle in which the target angle was closer to 20 degrees (see figure below right). This reduced the effective area of the focal spot (as viewed from the perspective of the object being x-rayed permitted) without significantly affecting the area of the anode bombarded by the electron beam from the cathode. In other words, it permitted high loading (x-ray intensity) without having to sacrifice image details.

Tungsten Alloy Anode for X-ray Radiation

Tungsten alloy anode is the most commonly used target material because it has a high atomic number which increases the intensity of the x-rays, and because it has a sufficiently high melting point that it can be allowed to become white hot.

During operation, the tungsten alloy anode can get as high as 2,700 degrees centigrade. In many cases, it is surrounded by copper - the high heat capacity of copper improves the dissipation of heat. It is very suitable for X-ray radiation.