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Geiger counter
A modern geiger counter
Other names	Geiger-Müller counter
Uses	Particle detector
Inventor	Hans Geiger
Related items	Geiger-Müller tube
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A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger-Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2080x1544, 1125 KB) Geiger-Müller radiation detector. ... The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is an example of a large particle detector. ... Johannes (Hans) Wilhelm Geiger (September 30, 1882 – September 24, 1945) was a German physicist. ... A Geiger-Müller tube (or GM tube) is the sensing element of a Geiger counter instrument that can detect a single particle of ionizing radiation, and typically produce an audible click for each. ... The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is an example of a large particle detector. ... Radiation hazard symbol. ...

Description

Geiger counters are used to detect radiation, usually alpha and beta radiation, but certain models can also detect gamma radiation as well. The sensor is a Geiger-Müller tube, an inert gas-filled tube (usually helium, neon or argon with halogens added) that briefly conducts electricity when a particle or photon of radiation temporarily makes the gas conductive. The tube amplifies this conduction by a cascade effect and outputs a current pulse, which is then often displayed by a needle or lamp and/or audible clicks. Modern instruments can report radioactivity over several orders of magnitude. Some Geiger counters can also be used to detect gamma radiation, though sensitivity can be lower for high energy gamma radiation than with certain other types of detector, because the density of the gas in the device is usually low, allowing most high energy gamma photons to pass through undetected (lower energy photons are easier to detect, and are better absorbed by the detector. Examples of this are the X-ray Pancake Geiger Tube). A better device for detecting gamma rays is a sodium iodide scintillation counter. Good alpha and beta scintillation counters also exist, but Geiger detectors are still favored as general purpose alpha/beta/gamma portable contamination and dose rate instruments, due to their low cost and robustness. A variation of the Geiger tube is used to measure neutrons, where the gas used is Boron Trifluoride and a plastic moderator is used to slow the neutrons. This creates a gamma ray inside the detector and thus neutrons can be counted. For other uses, see Radiation (disambiguation). ... An alpha particle is deflected by a magnetic field Alpha particles or alpha rays are a form of particle radiation which are highly ionizing and have low penetration. ... Beta particles are high-energy electrons emitted by certain types of radioactive nuclei such as potassium-40. ... This article is about electromagnetic radiation. ... A Geiger-Müller tube (or GM tube) is the sensing element of a Geiger counter instrument that can detect a single particle of ionizing radiation, and typically produce an audible click for each. ... General Name, symbol, number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ... For other uses, see Neon (disambiguation). ... General Name, symbol, number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 39. ... This article is about the chemical series. ... For the novel, see The Elementary Particles. ... In modern physics the photon is the elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena. ... An electron avalanche is a process in which a number of free electrons in a medium (usually a gas) are subjected to a strong electric field accelerate, ionizing the mediums atoms by collision (creating positive ions), forming new electrons to undergo the same process in successive cycles. ... This article is about electromagnetic radiation. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... Sodium iodide (NaI) is used in polymerase chain reactions (PCR) Categories: Chemistry stubs ... A scintillation counter measures ionizing radiation. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 940 MeV/c² (1. ... Boron trifluoride is the chemical compound with the formula BF3. ...

Types and applications

The configuration of GM tubes determines the types of radiation that it can detect. For example, a thin mica window on a GM Tube (shown here) will allow for the detection of alpha radiation, where as GM Tubes without a thin mica window are too thick for the alpha and low energy beta radiation to pass through and be detected.

The Geiger-Müller tube is one form of a class of radiation detectors called gaseous detectors or simply gas detectors. Although useful, cheap and robust, a counter using a GM tube can only detect the presence and intensity of radiation (particle frequency, as opposed to energy). Gas detectors with the ability to both detect radiation and determine particle energy levels (due to their construction, test gas, and associated electronics) are called proportional counters. Some proportional counters can detect the position and or angle of the incident radiation as well. Other devices detecting radiation include: A proportional counter is a measurement device to count particles of ionizing radiation and measure their energy. ...

ionization chamber, dosimeters, photomultiplier, semiconductor detectors and variants including CCDs, microchannel plates, scintillation counters, solid-state track detectors, cloud chambers, bubble chambers, spark chambers, neutron detectors and microcalorimeters. An ionization chamber is a device used for two major purposes: detecting particles in air (as in a smoke detector), and for detection or measurement of ionizing radiation. ... A dosimeter is any device used to measure an individuals exposure to a hazardous environment, particularly when the hazard is cumulative over long intervals of time, or ones lifetime. ... Photomultipliers, or photomultiplier tubes (PMT) are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared. ... A semiconductor particle detector is a device that uses a semiconductor (usually silicon) to detect the passage of charged particles. ... A specially developed CCD used for ultraviolet imaging in a wire bonded package. ... A microchannel plate detector is a type of detector used in mass spectrometry which is closely related to an electron multiplier. ... A scintillation counter measures ionizing radiation. ... A solid state nuclear track detector or SSNTD (also known as an etched track detector or a dielectric track detector, DTD) is a sample of a solid material (photographic emulsion, crystal, glass or plastic) exposed to nuclear radiation (neutrons or charged particles, occasionally also gamma rays), chemically etched, and examined... Discovery of the positron in 1932 by Carl D. Anderson in a cloud chamber The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is used for detecting particles of ionizing radiation. ... A bubble chamber A bubble chamber is a vessel filled with a superheated transparent liquid used to detect electrically charged particles moving through it. ... A spark-chamber detector is a particle detector, that is, a device used in particle physics for detecting electrically charged particles. ... Neutron detection is the effective detection of neutrons entering a well-positioned laboratory detector. ... A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. ...

The Geiger-Müller counter has applications in the fields of nuclear physics, geophysics (mining) and medical therapy with isotopes and x-rays. Some of the proportional counters have many internal wires and electrodes and are called multi-wire proportional counters or simply MWPCs. Radiation detectors have also been used extensively in nuclear physics, medicine, particle physics, astronomy and in industry. This box:      Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... This article is about mineral extractions. ... This article needs cleanup. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Thousands of particles explode from the collision point of two relativistic (100 GeV per nucleon) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ...

History

Cold War-era survey meter (this is an ion chamber, not a Geiger counter)

Hans Geiger developed a device (that would later be called the "Geiger counter") in 1908 together with Ernest Rutherford. This counter was only capable of detecting alpha particles. In 1928, Geiger and Walther Müller (a PhD student of Geiger) improved the counter so that it could detect all kinds of ionizing radiation. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (709x627, 94 KB) Description: ÄŒesky: Geigerův počítač Deutsch: Geigerzähler English: Geiger counter Español: Contador Geiger Français: Compteur Geiger Italiano: Contatore Geiger Polski: Licznik Geigera Source: photo taken by Horst Frank Date: - Author: Horst Frank Permission: Horst... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (709x627, 94 KB) Description: ÄŒesky: Geigerův počítač Deutsch: Geigerzähler English: Geiger counter Español: Contador Geiger Français: Compteur Geiger Italiano: Contatore Geiger Polski: Licznik Geigera Source: photo taken by Horst Frank Date: - Author: Horst Frank Permission: Horst... Johannes (Hans) Wilhelm Geiger (September 30, 1882 – September 24, 1945) was a German physicist. ... Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, PC, OM, FRS (August 30, 1871 – October 19, 1937), was a New Zealand nuclear physicist. ... Walther Müller was a German physicist, most well known for his improvement of Hans Geigers counter for ionizing radiation, now known as the Geiger-Mueller tube. ...

The current version of the "Geiger counter" is called the halogen counter. It was invented in 1947 by Sidney H. Liebson (Phys. Rev. 72, 602–608 (1947)). It has superseded the earlier Geiger counter because of its much longer life. The devices also used a lower operating voltage. Sidney H. Liebson (b. ...

See also

• Civil Defense Geiger Counters
• Geiger-Müller tube
• Radioactive decay
• Geiger plateau
• Gaseous ionization detectors
• Ionization chamber

Most Civil Defense Geiger Counters were issued by the United States Civil Defense during the 1960s in the midst of the Cold War in an effort to help prepare citizens for a nuclear attack. ... A Geiger-Müller tube (or GM tube) is the sensing element of a Geiger counter instrument that can detect a single particle of ionizing radiation, and typically produce an audible click for each. ... Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting radiation in the form of particles or electromagnetic waves. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... In particle physics, gaseous ionization detectors are particle detectors which detect the presence of particles. ... An ionization chamber is a device used for two major purposes: detecting particles in air (as in a smoke detector), and for detection or measurement of ionizing radiation. ...

External links

Patents

Electric lamps and discharge devices of the Geiger-Müller type (Class 313/93)

• U.S. Patent 625,823 , K. Zickler, "Telegraphy by means of electric light"
• U.S. Patent 685,958 , N. Tesla, "Method of utilizing radiant energy"
• U.S. Patent 1,589,833 , H. Benhken, "Measuring device for the examination of electromagnetic waves"
• U.S. Patent 1,855,669 , O. Glasser, "Method and apparatus for the measurement of radiation intensity"
• U.S. Patent 1,995,018 , H. J. Spanner, "Gas Filled Tube"
• U.S. Patent 2,081,041 , H. Kott, "Apparatus for measuring radiation"
• U.S. Patent 2,141,655 , H. Kott, "Radiation sensitive device"
• U.S. Patent 2,145,866 , G. Failla, "Electrotechnique"
• U.S. Patent 2,168,464 , S. Yeda, "Roentgenometer"
• U.S. Patent 2,197,453 , G. L. Hassler, "Method of underground exploration"
• U.S. Patent 2,221,374 , P. T. Farnsworth, "X-Ray projection device"
• U.S. Patent 2,257,827 , G. J. Weissenberg, "Electron Discharge Tube"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,071 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,072 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,073 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,074 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,075 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,398,934 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,440,511 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,449,697 , A. Graves, "Ionization chambers, Geiger Müller tubes, and the like"
• U.S. Patent 2,397,661 , D. G. C. Hare, "Radiation detector"
• U.S. Patent 2,521,315 , J. A. Victoreen, "Geiger tube"
• U.S. Patent 2,542,440 , J. A. Victoreen, "Geiger tube"

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