Energy (MeV) Areal Density (g/cm2)

Basics

• This course is designed for persons with an undergraduate degree in science or engineering but no knowledge of how particles (particularly protons) interact with matter. (To call it ‘particle physics’ would be too grandiose.) The best texts were written around the 1950’s:

• Bruno Rossi, ‘High-Energy Particles,’ Prentice-Hall (1952)

• Emilio Segrè, ‘Experimental Nuclear Physics,’ Wiley (1953)

• David M. Ritson, ‘Techniques of High Energy Physics,’ Interscience (1961)

• They are hard to get, and of course cover tons of stuff that’s either out-of-date or not needed. While we’re at it, two excellent books much more focused on our particular topic

• Eric J. Hall, ‘Radiobiology for the Radiologist,’ Harper and Row (1978)

• M.R. Raju, ‘Heavy Particle Radiotherapy,’ Academic Press (1980)

• are great for background. This lecture defines fundamental quantities that we’ll need throughout the course, and explores the relation between dose rate and beam current.

Energy (MeV)

Areal Density (g/cm2)

Mass Stopping Power (MeV/(g/cm2))

Fluence (protons/cm2)

Physical Dose (Gy = J/kg)

Equivalent Dose, RBE (Sv)