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Why are sources uniform and not shaped for waveguides?

If cosama doesn't make it back, the wording here is generally taken that "source" is the source material that radiates alpha, beta, gamma radiation and is in some sense 'pure'.

As such it radiates equally in all directions.

Of course a manufacted Source(TM) for industry might actually be a slug of doped Cs-137 surrounded by a lead casing with a window to direct emissions.

This still leaves us talking about the actual source of the radiation which emits equally in all directions .. but being blocked in some directions by either a casing or perhaps the earth below, a pool of water, etc.

Thanks for the answer. You are absolutely correct, although once you start taking all these effects into account it is often easier to run simulations. For a back-of-the-envelop calculation assuming uniformity is quite common.

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