Shielding Calculator

Plan your safety. Determine the shielding thickness required to reduce radiation intensity to safe levels.

Radiation Type
0.1 (X-ray) 0.662 (Cs) 1.33 (Co) 5.0
Required Reduction
50.0x
Attenuation Coeff (µ)
1.36 cm⁻¹

Required Thickness

2.88 cm

of Lead

Half-Value Layers

5.6 HVL

1 HVL ≈ 0.51 cm

INTENSITY DECAY VISUALIZATION
1 BLOCK = 1 HVL (0.51 cm)
100%
50.0%
HVL 1
25.0%
HVL 2
12.5%
HVL 3
6.3%
HVL 4
3.1%
HVL 5
1.6%
HVL 6

Visual representation of intensity halving through each layer.

Key Concepts

Source vs. Target Rate

Source Rate is the radiation intensity measured directly at the source. Target Rate is your safety goal (e.g., background level or regulatory limit).

Half-Value Layer (HVL)

The thickness of material required to reduce the radiation intensity by exactly 50%. HVL = 0.693 / μ

Attenuation Coefficient (μ)

A measure of how strongly a material absorbs or scatters radiation. Higher μ means the material is a better shield (requires less thickness).

Exponential Attenuation

Shielding never blocks 100% of gamma radiation; it reduces the probability of transmission exponentially.