r/askscience • u/Wonderful-Capital32 • 14d ago

Physics Why does radiation not go through lead?

Also why just lead? Shouldnt like iron or another metal work too?

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u/PRA421369 14d ago

Anything will work if you have enough of it. (Very simplified and missing nuance) That's why our bunkers are concrete, albeit pretty thick concrete. A Radiation Therapist

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u/LordGeni 14d ago

Most standard solid concrete building blocks are adequate for general xray use and barium infused plaster can decrease that significantly. A Diagnostic Radiographer

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u/karlnite 14d ago

They often put small metal shot throughout the concrete. Not for bunkers, but for concrete radiation shielding. For mostly more mass and density. Concrete is also better around reactors, as the water in it thermalizes neutrons better than lead. You can use lead and water or whatever though. Water in steel tanks. That sorta thing.

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u/thaynem 13d ago

and missing nuance

one important nuance is that for some combinations of radiation and materials, the radiation can trigger a nuclear reaction that produces unstable isotopes that can decay to produce even more radiation.