Interaction of Photon Radiation and Swift Particles with Matter

Information on submicroscopic phenomena can only be obtained from actions between either photon radiation or particles and the materials they penetrate. Since this material also consists of atoms, the interaction of photon radiation and particles with atoms is the basis for all measurements in the submicroscopic world that will be discussed in this chapter. Since the photon radiation as well as the particles are usually both referred to as radiation we distinguish here between photon and particle radiation. The interaction results in measurable quantities such as electric pulses, electric currents, and emission of light. Thus the measurement principles are transformations of information. The topic is furthermore the basis for all measurement devices such as detectors, which will be discussed in detail in Chap. 4.