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On the steady‐state drift conditions of a water calorimeter in clinical megavoltage photon and electron beams
Author(s) -
Kubo Hideo,
Brown Dennis E.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.595505
Subject(s) - calorimeter (particle physics) , thermal conduction , absorbed dose , radiation , photon , materials science , dosimetry , electron , nuclear physics , physics , computational physics , nuclear engineering , optics , thermodynamics , nuclear medicine , medicine , detector , engineering
We have investigated the characteristic behavior of a water calorimeter in a clinical environment where the temperature is not strictly controlled. Since the ambient temperature plays a crucial role in the successful operation of a calorimeter, its effects were closely monitored. The results were compared with theoretical predictions based on a simple model of heat transfer by conduction. They were found useful in analyzing the radiation dose measurements. In particular, a relationship between the absorbed dose and the pre‐ and postirradiation thermal drifts was examined. Finally, some suggestions are made concerning the desirable conditions under which a water calorimeter may be operated.