BRAINCAKEAttenuation of X-rays
As a parallel X-ray beam passes through a material, its intensity decreases exponentially with thickness:
I = I0 e−μx
I0 is the incident intensity, I the transmitted intensity, x the thickness and μ the attenuation (absorption) coefficient. μ has units of m−1, or cm−1 or mm−1 when x is in those units. Always use the same length unit for μ and x.
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Key terms in this lesson
- attenuation
- A decrease in the intensity of a beam of radiation as it passes through matter, due to absorption or scattering.
More in Medical Imaging
- Production of X-rays
- X-ray Tubes
- X-ray Attenuation Mechanisms
- Photoelectric Effect, Compton Scattering and Pair Production
- Contrast Media
- CAT Scanning
- Medical Tracers
- Technetium-99m and Fluorine-18
All 20 lessons in Medical Imaging · All OCR A-level Physics topics