A photon can be absorbed into an atomic nucleus over a certain energy threshold, causing one of the nucleons (a proton or a neutron) to be ejected.
Photodisintegration is the term for this process. Photodisintegration is more likely to occur in high-Z materials (such as metals) than in tissue during photon production in a linear particle accelerator (linac). Patients undergoing radiotherapy from very high energy machines may receive a considerable background radiation dose from neutrons produced in this manner.
On the other hand, photodisintegration is insignificant for accelerators functioning at less than 10 MV.
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