How does a Geiger counter work? Detailed answer

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How does a Geiger counter work? Detailed answer

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How does a Geiger counter work?

You have probably heard that the Geiger counter helps modern man in the exploration of rare metals. Or you may have heard the Geiger counter mentioned when people talk about the dangers posed by atomic explosions. In both cases, a phenomenon called radiation, or radiation, occurs. Certain radioactive elements emit rays that are easily detected and measured with a Geiger counter. This counter was invented by Hans Geiger, and then improved by a scientist named Müller.

The counter is a vacuum tube. It is arranged quite simply: inside a very thin glass test tube there are two plates and a small amount of gas, such as argon. Tubes filled with gas are familiar to you - these are luminous neon advertising tubes. In a neon tube or fluorescent lamp, the gas begins to glow if the contacts are connected to a source of electrical energy of sufficiently high voltage. The high voltage deposits the gas and allows a huge stream of electrons to move between the two plates. When this movement of the flow of electrons begins, the gas inside the tube begins to glow.

In a Geiger counter, on the other hand, the voltage must be very low so that the gas does not begin to glow under normal conditions. Now let's imagine what happens if a radioactive substance is nearby. Its radiation penetrates the tube and begins to interact with gas molecules. From this they get energy and make the gas glow. So, now an electric current passes through the tube. If you pass it through the counter, you can find out the amount of radiation that got into the tube.

And you can also make this current tick, which we usually associate with a Geiger counter. Since the Geiger counter is a radiation-capturing device, it certainly cannot capture anything that does not produce radiation. Therefore, the possibilities of using it to search for rare metals are very limited.

Author: Likum A.

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

How was the American Edison's phonograph received in France and Russia?

In 1877, American inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) designed the first household phonograph.

This mechanical device for recording and reproducing sound made a real sensation. Few people believed that a small cylinder with grooves on which a needle slides could reproduce a human voice. During a demonstration of the phonograph at a meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences, the indignant academician Buyo exclaimed: "We will not allow some ventriloquist to cheat us!"

In Russia, the owner of the "talking mechanical beast" was sentenced to a large fine and three months in prison.

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