Practical Gamma-ray Spectroscopy

Gordon Gilmore, PhD, worked at the Universities Research Reactor (owned by Manchester and Liverpool Universities and now decommissioned) using gamma spectrometry, originally as an adjunct to chemical analysis, at a time when detectors and instrumentation were being developed from their relatively primitive beginnings to their modern sophisticated forms. That 25 years of experience, along with the late John Hemingway, led to the publication of the first edition of this work, with the intention of sharing a deep understanding of gamma spectrometry with the expanding population of gamma spectrometrists within universities and many establishments where radioactivity is used or studied. After his retirement from the University, as a director of Nuclear Training Services Ltd., he was called upon to lecture, develop methods and advise on setting up gamma spectrometry facilities. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Liverpool. David Joss, PhD, is Professor of Physics at the University of Liverpool, UK, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in nuclear physics. His research focuses on understanding the structure of the atomic nucleus using gamma-ray spectroscopy with large spectrometer arrays. He has published over 200 research articles from his research. He is a Fellow in the Institute of Physics and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Internet Resources within the Book

1. Radioactive Decay and the Origin of Gamma and X-Radiation

2. Interactions of Gamma Radiation with Matter

3. Semiconductor Detectors for Gamma-Ray Spectrometry

4. Electronics for Gamma-Ray Spectrometry

5. Statistics of Counting

6. Resolution: Origins and Control

7. Spectrometer Calibration

8. True Coincidence Summing

9. Computer Analysis of Gamma-Ray Spectra

10. Scintillation Spectrometry

11. Choosing and Setting up a Detector, and Checking its Specifications

12. Troubleshooting

13. Low Count Rate Systems

14. High Count Rate Systems

15. Ensuring Quality in Gamma-Ray Spectrometry

16. Gamma Spectrometry of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)

17. Applications

Appendix A: Sources of Information

Appendix B: Gamma- and X-Ray Standards for Detector Calibration

Appendix C: X-Rays Routinely Found in Gamma Spectra

Appendix D: Gamma-Ray Energies in the Detector Background and the Environment

Appendix E: Chemical Names, Symbols and Relative Atomic Masses of the Elements

Glossary

Index