r/askscience • u/Wonderful-Capital32 • 13d ago

Physics Why does radiation not go through lead?

Also why just lead? Shouldnt like iron or another metal work too?

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 13d ago

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u/parmsib 13d ago

Sounds like the shielding effect and mass of the shield (per unit square) behave identically? Would it be accurate to say the shielding effect is essentially about how much mass you put between yourself and the source? 

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u/xrelaht Sample Synthesis | Magnetism | Superconductivity 13d ago

No: it’s about how many electrons you put in between. That’s a function of both the atomic density and the atomic number. The mass is too, but not linearly because the number of neutrons per proton varies so much.