Strahlart

Strahlart is a term used to describe the characteristic form and properties of a radiation beam. It indicates how a beam is produced, how it propagates, and how it interacts with matter. In practice, a Strahlart combines aspects such as directionality, collimation, and spectral content to categorize different beams.

Typical attributes used to distinguish Strahlarten include directionality and collimation (collimated or directive beams versus uncollimated beams that diverge); angular distribution (isotropic versus anisotropic); spectral content (monoenergetic versus polyenergetic); coherence and polarization (relevant for laser and some particle beams); and time structure (continuous versus pulsed). The term appears in contexts such as X-ray imaging, particle physics experiments, and optical systems.

Describing Strahlarten aids design and analysis: selecting shielding and detectors, optimizing dose in medical imaging, or ensuring beam quality in experimental setups. Measurement approaches include beam profiling, angular distribution measurements, energy spectroscopy, and dosimetry, all of which help quantify the specific Strahlart of a given source.