COMMENTARY: The Parameter-Free Track Structure Model of Scholz and Kraft for Heavy-Ion Cross Sections

Authors

• Robert Katz, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

January 2003

Comments

Published in RADIATION RESEARCH 160, 724–728 (2003). Copyright 2003 by Radiation Research Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

The "parameter-free", "local effects" theory of Scholz and Kraft is an extension to mammalian cells of the theory of RBE for dry enzymes and viruses of Butts and Katz. Its claim for parameter freedom has been challenged elsewhere. Here we examine its conceptual base and find errors in its use of the physical concept of cross section and its neglect of the radiobiological relationship between target size and radio-sensitivity in evaluating the radiation damage to "point targets".