The Radiation Range Experiment: Alpha, Beta And Gamma Particles (Lab Report Sample)

Radiation Experiment; Alpha, Beta and gamma particles Name: Instructor: Affiliation: Course: Date: Introduction: Radiations are one of the most researched areas by scientists. That is due to the wide range of applications that the types of radiations contain. A radiation is defined as energy transfer through a material or space in waves form. Radiation waves occur in different forms namely electromagnetic waves that consist of radio waves and x-rays, mechanical oscillations composed mainly of sound waves. Radiations are characterized with their frequencies and wavelengths (Martin et al., 1970)6. Themain types of radiation are three which include; Beta particles,alpha particles, and gamma particles.The above subatomic particles are ejected by very fast moving atoms. Of the three, alpha particles are the heaviest and are composed of two neutrons and protons respectively. Furthermore, due to variation in weights of particle, the ability of particles to penetrate matter varies accordingly. The relationship between the weight of a particle and its penetrating power is indirect in proportion. Therefore, the heavier the particle the less its penetrating power and vice versa. This is due to loss of energy by the heavy ration particle during its travel to the target media. As result alpha particles have the least penetrating power followed by beta particles. Gamma has the highest penetrating power and least weight. The other important is note is the charges of the radiation particles. Alpha charges are positively charged while beta particles are negatively charged. Gamma particles do not have any charge thus not deflected by electromagnetic plate (Lilley, 2001)151. Alpha particles are deflected of the negative side of electromagnetic plate while beta particles are deflected on the positively charged side. Aim: The aim of the experiment is to determine the radiation range of the different types of radiation such as Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The experiment will a...