My second and last advanced lab project is on Compton Scattering.
Compton scattering is the measurement of energy change in high energy photons striking electrons.
The high energy photons come from a Cesium 137 radioactive sample, and emit around 0.5 milli Roentgen per hour of radiation 20 centimeters from the sample.
The gamma rays emitted by Cesium 137 are 662 keV, these photons are around 400 times more energetic than visible light!
I've written extensively about radiation safety in my report and determined that as long as we keep our exposure in the direct beam (unshielded) under 20 hours, we will remain under the publicly advisable limit.