Effective atomic numbers in some food materials and medicines for $$\gamma $$γ-ray attenuation using $$^{137}$$137Cs $$\gamma $$γ-ray

A light-weight multichannel analyser (MCA)-based \(\gamma \)-ray spectrometer, developed earlier at the Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, has been used as part of the PG curriculum, to determine the effective atomic numbers for \(\gamma \) attenuation of \(^{137}\)Cs \(\gamma \)-ray in different types of samples. The samples used are mixtures of graphite, aluminum and selenium powders in different proportions, commercial and home-made edible powders, fruit and vegetable juices as well as certain allopathic and ayurvedic medications. A narrow beam good geometry set-up has been used in the experiments. The measured attenuation coefficients have been used to extract effective atomic numbers in the samples. The results are consistent with XCOM values wherever available. The present results suggest that the \(\gamma \) attenuation technique can be used as an effective non-destructive method for finding adulteration of food materials.