Validation of Popular Models Used in the Analysis of Specific Activity of Primordial Radionuclides in Environmental Samples through 1-D Analytical Modeling
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Date
2019
Authors
Chege, Margaret Wairimu
Kebwaro, Jeremiah Monari
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Hirosaki University Press
Abstract
A scientific model may be considered agreeable if it conforms to given scientific laws, in addition to
being able to procure data that can be replicated to an acceptable level when other time-tested and
proven methodologies are applied. For first-time researchers such as graduate students, choosing
the right model is not always easy and some may opt for a particular model not because they are
assured of its correctness, but because it has been used by peers before them. Such tendencies
can inadvertently lead to the propagation of flawed models across generations of researchers.
In the field of environmental radioactivity, the comparison and conventional models are
frequently used in the evaluation of specific activity of primordial radionuclides in solids. Through
one-dimensional (1-D) analytical modeling, this paper shows that while the conventional model
conforms to given scientific laws, the comparison model does not since it wrongly assumes a linear
between the intensity of gamma radiation through a solid and mass of the solid. A modified version
of the comparison model that corrects for difference in mass between the solids being compared
(sample of interest and certified reference material) is advanced.
Description
article
Keywords
1-D modeling, model, conventional model, one-dimensional modeling
Citation
Chege, M. W., & Kebwaro, J. M. (2019). Validation of Popular Models Used in the Analysis of Specific Activity of Primordial Radionuclides in Environmental Samples through 1-D Analytical Modeling. Radiation Environment and Medicine, 8(2), 45-50.