PhysicsCode 5054
Detection of radioactivity
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Describe how alpha particles (α-particles) are detected with a spark counter or a cloud chamber, and how beta particles (β-particles) (here β-particles means β−) and gamma radiation (γ-radiation) are detected with a Geiger-Müller tube and counter
- Apply count rates expressed either in counts / s or in counts /minute
- Understand the meaning of background radiation
- Know the sources that make up a significant part of background radiation, including: (a) radon, a gas found in the air (b) rocks in the ground, and building materials (c) what we eat and drink (d) cosmic rays
- Use background radiation measurements to work out a corrected count rate