Gamma-ray electrification of a dielectric

In this work the behavior of the characteristics of the volume charge induced by a ..gamma..-ray pulse in a thick plane-parallel plate, under the normal incidence of a beam of monoenergetic quanta ranging from 10 keV to 1 MeV, is examined. The theoretical results obtained are compared with experimental data obtained for a layer of polymethyl methacrylate 1.8 mm thick with the use of the spectrum of x-ray bremmstrahlung, produced by 1 MeV electrons passing through an iron target with a specific thickness of 0.796 g/cm/sup 2/. The density distribution of the volume charge was obtained taking into account in detail the angular characteristics of the photo- and Compton electrons. A simple procedure was used to take into account the effect of multiple scattering of the electrons; unlike well-known computational methods it enabled clear physical interpretation and did not require large amounts of computer time in carrying out the calculations.