On Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 12:45 PM, <mix...@bigpond.com> wrote: PS - AFAIK charged fast particles tend to lose on average about 400 eV for > every > atom they pass through, though that probably varies with the mass and > charge of > the fast particle.
A textbook I have on radiation (Turner) says that for a charged particle of z=1, electron capture becomes significant below an energy of ~25 keV. If the D nucleus captures an electron as it travels, then perhaps it will pass through as a neutral particle part or most of the time, losing less energy in the process and allowing more interactions before it drops below 5 keV? Eric
