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Determination of the effective atomic number of thick samples of unknown composition using scattering studies

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Abstract.

The effective atomic number ( \( Z_{\rm eff}\) is a quantity which gives the fraction of the total number of electrons in a composite material participating in the photon-atom interaction. The effective atomic number has been determined for the materials of known composition by using different methods. However, no method has been reported so far to determine \( Z_{\rm eff}\) for thick samples of unknown composition. In view of this, we have evolved a simple method to determine the effective atomic number, which uses the scattering intensity ratios measured at two scattering angles, in which a sample of known \( Z_{\rm eff}\) or Z is taken as a reference sample. The values of \( Z_{\rm eff}\) obtained by this method agree with those obtained from the Auto-Zeff software within the stated errors. This method could be helpful in determining the effective atomic number of samples of unknown composition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DoS in Physics, University of Mysore, 570006, Mysuru, India

    B. M. Sankarshan, C. D. Athrey & T. K. Umesh

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  1. B. M. Sankarshan
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  2. C. D. Athrey
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  3. T. K. Umesh
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Correspondence to T. K. Umesh.

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Sankarshan, B.M., Athrey, C.D. & Umesh, T.K. Determination of the effective atomic number of thick samples of unknown composition using scattering studies. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 132, 271 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11553-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11553-2

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