A simplified model of radiation attenuation and energy absorption coefficients of the elements

Abstract

This paper presents a model to predict mass attenuation and mass energy absorption coefficients of the elements for photons of energy from 1keV to 20MeV. The Compton scattering component is modeled by the attenuation and energy absorption of hydrogen at photon energies above 10keV. Photoelectric attenuation and absorption is modeled as a simple power law of photon energy, modified by a simple function of the difference between the photon energy and the K shell binding energy of the absorber atoms. Attenuation and absorption by pair production above 1.022MeV is modeled as a quadratic function of the square root of the photon energy. The mass attenuation and mass energy absorption coefficients of compounds can be predicted by the mixture rule. The errors in the model are greatest at the lowest photon energies, in part due to a lack of experimental data for photon energies below 1keV. Worked examples are presented for the attenuation of photons at various energies in several elements and also in water over the whole range of photon energies.