Also known as a Geiger– Müller counter, an electronic instrument used to detect the presence of high-energy radiation particles. The device comprises a single wire held at a high positive voltage surrounded by a gas such as argon, the whole being contained within a cylindrical electrode. A particle such as an ion or electron penetrates the wall of the cylinder directly, and gamma and X-RAYS generate IONS from the gas. These ions or particles are attracted by the high voltage in the wire, gain energy, collide with other atoms of the gas and release more electrons; the process ceases due to limiting factors in the gas itself or in the electronic circuitry.
This process creates a clear pulse that is detected (i.e. ‘counted’) by the instrument. In this way the Geiger counter is a highly accurate instrument for the detection of radiation and quantifying the number of disruptions of the electronic field. The instrument is however not capable of differentiating between radiation types, and nor does it describe the energy of the particles (save to identify that they are capable of penetrating the cylinder wall).
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