However, the production of bremsstrahlung may also be another significant mechanism for the dissipation of beta-particle energy, particularly as the beta-particle energy and the atomic number of the absorber increase ( Kudo, 1995). Ionization and electron excitation were previously described as predominant mechanisms by which a traveling beta particle may lose its kinetic energy in matter (see Sections II.B and V of this chapter). Some examples of radionuclides that decay by electron capture without the emission of gamma radiation are as follows: However, in the absence of gamma radiation, the upper limit of the internal Bremsstrahlung can be used to determine the transition energy of a nuclide in electron capture decay. In such cases, internal Bremsstrahlung may be of insufficient intensity to lend itself to radionuclide detection. When gamma radiation is also emitted, the internal Bremsstrahlung may be masked by the more intense gamma rays and go undetected. Thus, in electron capture decay, internal Bremsstrahlung may possess energies between zero and the maximum, or transition energy of a radionuclide. Because a neutrino is emitted in these decay processes, the quantum of energy not carried away by the neutrino is emitted as internal Bremsstrahlung. This is referred to as internal or inner Bremsstrahlung. Bremsstrahlung of very low intensity also results from the transforming nucleus in electron capture decay processes (see Section 2.3.2 of Chapter 2).
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