A complete proportional counter arrangement for cosmic-ray measurements

✍ Scribed by Paul Weisz; W.E. Ramsey

• Book ID: 104133143
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1942
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 32 KB
• Volume: 234
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(42)91094-9

✦ Synopsis

An apparatus which has served successfully to study the ionizing capacity of individual particles of the cosmic radiation is described. The analyzing chamber is a carefully designed proportional counter tube filled with purified argon. Although this counter is working continuously, the amplifier has zero sensitivity unless a ray passes through a pre-determined path in the counter. This control is accomplished by a system of Geiger-Mfiller counters operating as a conventional telescope which "turns on" the amplification and recording mechanism for a period of time beginning with the passage of the ray and ending approximately 4 × IO-4 sec. later. During this time the amount of charge released in the proportional counter by this ray, and only this ray, is recorded. Certain general principles of proportional counter mechanism are discussed.