ABSTRACT
Structure of Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Jean Chavaudra
Chapter 2
Radioactivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Jean Chavaudra
Chapter 3
Interactions of Charged Particles with Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Alan Nahum
Chapter 4
Interactions of Photons with Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
David Dance and Gudrun Alm Carlsson
Chapter 5
The Monte Carlo Simulation of Radiation Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Alex Bielajew
Chapter 6
Principles and Basic Concepts in Radiation Dosimetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Alan Nahum
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
This Part introduces the fundamental concepts underlying radiotherapy physics. It moves
from the structure of matter and radioactivity (Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) to an explanation of the
various interactions between radiation andmatter (Chapter 3 andChapter 4). Adescriptionof the
Monte Carlo method is given in Chapter 5, as it illustrates the way in which knowledge of the
detailed interactions can lead to anunderstandingof the transport of radiation inmatter. Finally, in
Chapter 6, themain dosimetric quantities are defined and their relationship is discussed in order to
provide a more thorough understanding of dose-measurement methods presented in Part D and
dose-calculation methods presented in Part E and Part F. Numerical values of many useful quan-
tities are given in Part M. For complementary data on fundamental radiation physics used for
medical applications the reader can refer to other more detailed textbooks (Goodwin and Rao
1977; Halliday and Resnic 1988; Bushberg et al. 1994; Cherry, Sorenson and Phelps 2003).
