Soft tissue has a linear attenuation coefficient in the range of = 0.35 cm1 at 30 keV and = 0.16 cm1 at 100 keV. For this problem we use = 0.

Soft tissue has a linear attenuation coefficient in the range of μ = 0.35 cm−1 at 30 keV and μ = 0.16 cm−1 at 100 keV. For this problem we use μ = 0.21 cm−1, which applies at around 50 keV incident X-ray energy.

(a) What fraction of X-ray photons at 50 keV are passing through a person's body? Hint: the person's body thickness is about 22 cm. Use a soft tissue approximation, i.e., neglecting bones. N N0 =

(b) We compare bone and soft tissue of 5 cm thickness each. Using μbone = 0.57 cm−1 at 50 keV, what fraction of a 50 keV incident X-ray beam is stopped in bone and soft tissue respectively