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Health physics is a field of science concerned with radiation physics and radiation biology with the goal of informing the safe use of ionizing radiation. Health physicists principally work at facilities where radionuclide
Radionuclide

A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable Atomic nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created radiation particle within the nucleus, or else to an atomic electron ....
s or ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particle radiation or electromagnetic radiation that are energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, ionize them....
 are used or produced such as medical institutions, government laboratories, nuclear power plants, regulatory agencies and manufacturers. There are many sub-specialites in the field of health physics, including

The field of medical physics

Medical physics

File:Gamma knife.jpgMedical physics is the application of physics to medicine. It generally concerns physics as applied to medical imaging and radiotherapy, although a medical physicist may also work in many other areas of healthcare....
 is similar to that of health physics since practitioners rely on the same fundamental science (i.e., radiation physics, biology, etc).






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Health physics is a field of science concerned with radiation physics and radiation biology with the goal of informing the safe use of ionizing radiation. Health physicists principally work at facilities where radionuclide
Radionuclide

A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable Atomic nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created radiation particle within the nucleus, or else to an atomic electron ....
s or ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particle radiation or electromagnetic radiation that are energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, ionize them....
 are used or produced such as medical institutions, government laboratories, nuclear power plants, regulatory agencies and manufacturers. There are many sub-specialites in the field of health physics, including

  • Nuclear instrumentation and measurements
  • Internal dosimetry
    Internal dosimetry

    Internal dosimetry provides methods for calculation of radiation dose and risks from radionuclides incorporated inside human body. The Radionuclide deposited in human body will irradiate that person and will give dose to body until excreted or completely decayed from the body....
     and external dosimetry
    Dosimetry

    Radiation dosimetry is the calculation of the absorbed dose in matter and tissue resulting from the exposure to indirectly and directly ionizing radiation....
  • Radioactive waste
    Radioactive waste

    Radioactive wastes are waste types containing radioactive decay chemical elements that do not have a practical purpose. They are usually the products of nuclear processes, such as nuclear fission....
     management
  • Radioactive contamination
    Radioactive contamination

    Radioactive contamination is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive decay material in a given environment. The amount of radioactive material released in an accident is called the source term....
  • Radiological engineering
    Engineering

    Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
     (shielding, holdup, etc)
  • Environmental assessment
  • Operational radiation protection
  • Particle accelerator
    Particle accelerator

    A particle accelerator is a device that uses electric fields to propel electric charge Elementary particles to high speeds and to contain them....
     physics
  • Radiological emergency response - (e.g., Nuclear Emergency Support Team
    Nuclear Emergency Support Team

    The Nuclear Emergency Support Team is a team of scientists, technicians, and engineers operating under the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration ....
    )

The field of medical physics

Medical physics

File:Gamma knife.jpgMedical physics is the application of physics to medicine. It generally concerns physics as applied to medical imaging and radiotherapy, although a medical physicist may also work in many other areas of healthcare....
 is similar to that of health physics since practitioners rely on the same fundamental science (i.e., radiation physics, biology, etc). Health physicists, however, focus on the evaluation and protection of human health from radiation, whereas medical physicists use radiation and other physics-based technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

History of the term "Health Physics"

According to Paul Frame :
"The term Health Physics is believed to have originated in the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago in 1942, but the exact origin is unknown. The term was possibly coined by Robert Stone or Arthur Compton
Arthur Compton

Arthur Holly Compton was an American physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics in physics for his discovery of the Compton effect. He served as Chancellor of Washington University in St....
, since Stone was the head of the Health Division and Arthur Compton was the head of the Metallurgical Laboratory. The first task of the Health Physics Section was to design shielding for reactor CP-1 that Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of Quantum mechanics, nuclear physics and particle physics, and statistical mechanics....
 was constructing, so the original HPs were mostly physicists trying to solve health-related problems. The explanation given by Robert Stone was that '...the term Health Physics has been used on the Plutonium Project to define that field in which physical methods are used to determine the existence of hazards to the health of personnel.'

A variation was given by Raymond Finkle, a Health Division employee during this time frame. 'The coinage at first merely denoted the physics section of the Health Division... the name also served security: 'radiation protection' might arouse unwelcome interest; 'health physics' conveyed nothing.'"



References



Professional Societies

The is a scientific and professional organization whose members specialize in occupational and environmental radiation safety.


See also

  • Certified Health Physicist
    Certified Health Physicist

    Certified Health Physicist is An official title granted by the , the certification board for health physics in the United States. A Certified Health Physicist is designated by the letters CHP or DABHP after his or her name....
  • Radiological Protection of Patients
    Radiological protection of patients

    Patients are exposed to ionizing radiations when they undergo diagnostic examinations using x rays or radiopharmaceuticals, therapy of cancer or benign lesions using radiations emitted by radioisotopes or those by radiation generators; and in interventional procedures using fluoroscopy....