Objectives and competences
Objectives:
To learn the basic properties and types of ionizing radiation, to learn about the detectors and methods of measuring ionizing radiation and to learn about the use of ionizing radiation in medicine and industry.
Competences:
acquires the ability to distinguish between different types of ionizing radiation, knows the measures for protection against ionizing radiation, knows in what ways the ionizing radiation can be used in medicine and industry and able to use simple ionizing radiation detectors such as. Geiger counter.
Content (Syllabus outline)
- Basic definitions (ionizing radiation, flux, spectrum)
- Basics of the detection of ionizing radiation; description of the most common types of instruments:
• Ionization chambers
• Gaseous ionization detectors
• Geiger counters
• scintillation counters
- Spectrometry of ionizing radiation
• Charged particle measurements
• Neutral particle measurements
- Gamma spectroscopy
• Determination of elemental composition by characteristic gamma-line emission analyses
• Description of measurement techniques-
- Applications in medicine
- Industrial applications of nuclear techniques
Learning and teaching methods
During lectures, the student learns the theoretical fundamentals of the course.
During auditor exercises students upgrades theoretical knoweledge by solving calculation tasks
During laboratory exercise student gets aquainted with the ionization radiation detectors and learns to perform simple radiation measurements.
Intended learning outcomes - knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding:
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
• clasiffy different types of ionizing radiation
• explain the differences, advantages and disadvantages of different types of ionizing radiation detectors and choose the most proper detector for a given measurement
• describe how radiation affects the human body and how to protect from radiation
• calculate how the activity and composition of radioactive substance changes over time from known decey times and initial composition of the substance
• calculate how much energy is released or consumed in a given nuclear reaction from the nuclear reaction equation and nuclear mass formula
• calculate the final energy of the accelerated particles from the known physical characteristics of the accelerator
• use a Geiger counter for measurement of the speed of radioactive decay
• predict an error in measuring the speed of radioactive decay
• list the uses of ionizing radiation in industry and medicine
Intended learning outcomes - transferable/key skills and other attributes
Transferable/key compentences and other abilities:
Calculation skills:
- use the mass formula to estimate the mass of the nucleus
- calculate basic quantities in case of nuclear reactions (composition after a certain time, energy released)
- calculate the basic parameter of accelerators
Laboratory skills:
- use Geiger counters
Readings
1. G.F.Knoll, Radiation Detection And Measurement, J.Wiley and Sons, 2000
2. M.Koželj, R.Erman, R. Istenič, M. Černilogar Radež, Delo z viri sevanj, Ministrsstvo za okolje in prostor, Uprava RS za jedrsko varnost, Ljubljana, 2006
3. E.B.Podgorsak, Radiation Oncology physics: a handbook forteachers and students, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 2005
Additional information on implementation and assessment Method (written or oral exam, coursework, project):
calculation exam
theoretical exam
Laboratory work
For a final positive grade, the student must achieve a positive grade (more than 50%) in each exam separately. In this case, the final assessment consists of an assessment of all three assessment methods according to the written shares. In the calculation exam, the achievement of calculation skills is checked, in the laboratory work, the achievement of laboratory skills is checked , and in the theory exam, the achievement of knowledge and understanding is checked.
Ongoing assessment:
1. midterm exam
2. midterm exam
Midterm exam tests computational skills and theoretical knowledge and understanding. A positive grade (50% or more) in the part that tests calculation skills replaces the calculation exam, and a positive grade in the part that tests knowledge and understanding replaces the theoretical exam.
