| Accurate knowledge of electron stopping powers is crucial for accurate radiation dosimetry and radiation transport calculations. Current values for stopping powers are based on a theoretical model, with estimated uncertainties of 0.5–1% (1σ) for electron energies greater than 100 keV. This work presents the first measurements of electron collision stopping powers capable of testing the theoretical values within these stated uncertainties.;A large NaI spectrometer was used to measure the change in electron energy when an absorbing disk of known thickness was placed in an electron beam. Monte Carlo simulations of the experiment were performed to account for the effects of surrounding materials. Energy differences between the calculated and measured spectra were used to determine corrections to the soft collision component of the theoretical stopping powers employed by the Monte Carlo simulations.;Four different elemental materials were studied: Be, Al, Cu, and Ta. This provided a wide range of atomic numbers and densities over which to test the theory. In addition, stopping powers were measured for graphite (both standard and pyrolytic), A-150 tissue equivalent plastic, C-552 air equivalent plastic, and water. The incident electron energies ranged from 5 to 30 MeV. Generally, the measured stopping powers agree with the theoretical values within the experimental uncertainties, which range from 0.4% to 0.7% (1σ). Aluminum, however, exhibits a 0.7% discrepancy at higher electron energies. Furthermore, these measurements have established that the grain density stopping power is appropriate for graphite, contrary to the recommendations of ICRU Report 37. This removes a 0.2% uncertainty in air kerma calibrations, and impacts on dosimetric quantities determined via graphite calorimetry, such as &epsis;G for Fricke dosimetry and (W/ e)air for ion chamber measurements. |
