International Journal of Physics, 2017, Vol. 5, No. 3, 92-98
Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ijp/5/3/5
©Science and Education Publishing
DOI:10.12691/ijp-5-3-5
Calculations of Stopping Power, and Range of Ions
Radiation (Alpha Particles) Interaction with
Different Materials and Human Body Parts
M.O. El- Ghossain
*
Department of Physics, The Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestine
*Corresponding author: ghossain@iugaza.edu.ps
Abstract Radiation is naturally present in our environment and artificially in hospitals, both types of radiation
interact with human body. In this work we studied interaction of Ions radiations and alpha particles with matter; we
calculated the stopping power (in MeV cm2/g) and Range from the theory of Bethe-Bloch formula as giving in the
reference. This has been done for different target materials in biological human body substances such as water, bone,
muscle and tissue and at different energies of the ions. All these calculations were done using different programs;
SRIM, STAR and Matlab, the results will be shown for Range Vs energy, and stopping power vs energy. Fitting
model was employed using Matlab for water. Total stopping power was obtained by summing the electronic
collisional and radioactive stopping power of the target materials, and then employing the continuous slowing down
approximation (CSDA) to calculate the path length (Range). The total stopping power is proportional to Z
2
, Z/A, and
I, increases rapidly at low energies, reaches a maximum and decreases gradually with increasing energy.
Keywords: stopping power, range, alpha particles, dose, human body, Matlab
Cite This Article: M.O. El- Ghossain, “Calculations of Stopping Power, and Range of Ions Radiation (Alpha
Particles) Interaction with Different Materials and Human Body Parts.” International Journal of Physics, vol. 5,
no. 3 (2017): 92-98. doi: 10.12691/ijp-5-3-5.
1. Introduction
The Stopping power and energy dissipation of charged
particles through matter has been a subject of great
interest for 100 years [1,2,3] because of its wide areas of
application, such as ion implantation, fundamental particle
physics, nuclear physics, radiation damage, radiology
[2,3]. Heavy charged particles traversing matter lose
energy primarily through the ionization and excitation of
atoms [4]. The stopping power is defined as the mean
energy loss per unit path length–dE/dx. It depends on the
charge and velocity of the projectile and, of course, the
target material [5,6]. Early investigations of the energy
loss of charged particles traversing matter arrive at a
general stopping power formula [6].
If an ion beam penetrates through matter it loses energy
due to collisions with electrons (electronic stopping) and
target nuclei (nuclear stopping) [7]. The total stopping
power is then just the sum of the stopping powers due to
electronic and nuclear interactions [8,9]. At low energies
the total energy loss is usually described in terms of
electronic stopping power [10]. The nuclear component of
the stopping power can also be ignored [7]. The possible
phenomena contributing to the electronic stopping in the
velocity region well below the light velocity are [9]:
1. Momentum Exchange in a Collision between the Ion
and a Free Electron in the Target Material.
2. Ionization of the Ion.
3. The Ion Captures An Electron.
4. Excitation of the Ion.
5. Excitation of a Target Atom
6. Ionization of a Target Atom.
7. Collective Effects Such As the Polarization or the
Plasmon Excitation
In this work the interactions of ion radiation with matter
will be studied, this will include the heavy charged
particles like alpha particles and ions, also we will show
the effects of theses interactions with human body, skin,
and bone, skeletal and different parts of the body.
Energy loss and dose are correlated with each other and
help to formulate the interaction of internal and external
radiation with matter to predict the affectivity of the
radiation treatment and the possible damage to adjacent
body tissue. Radiation treatment is based on different kind
of radiation and depends on the different kind of
interaction between the radiation and matter (body tissue)
[9], the energy loss and dose which human body might
exposed during medical treatments or accidents or from
natural radioactivity, this will help us in the dose limit and
to be more protected, in Gaza we use different kind of
radiation in universities, hospitals, knowing the energy
loss, dose will help us to protect ourselves and our
environment.
The stopping power, energy loss, range, straggling and
equivalent dose rate of ions in air, tissue and polymers are
very important in many research and application fields,
such as radiation dosimetry, radiation biology (such as cell
lethality, cytogenesis changes, mutagenesis and DNA