range straggling

Range straggling refers to the slight variation in the distance that charged particles, such as alpha particles and electrons, travel through matter. This occurs because the loss of energy by these particles happens in discrete amounts, leading to statistical fluctuations around an average or most probable range.1

For alpha particles, which are heavy and travel in relatively straight paths, range straggling means they show a random variation in their final distances from the source, even with the same initial energy. Electrons, being lighter and experiencing more deflection, have their range measured differently, but also exhibit straggling. This phenomenon is crucial in understanding particle identification and energy measurement in physics.12