We have examined the vortex dynamics in both as-grown and columnar-def
ected BSCCO 2212 crystals where the latter have been irradiated to pro
duce columns along the crystallographic c-axis. Both the magnetisation
and the (dynamic) relaxation rate have been measured as a function of
field and temperature. Using a scaling analysis we extract the form o
f the energy scales of the characteristic critical current and pinning
.