Experiments on and theory of the action of the Geiger point counter

✍ Scribed by Joseph Morgan; J.Lloyd Bohn

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1944
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 826 KB
• Volume: 237
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(44)90959-2

✦ Synopsis

Curves are included showing the relationship between voltage and relative position of electrodes, and between voltage and counter gas pressure. Also included are experiments on the preparation of sensitive and insensitive points, and experiments with different electrode materials. These data are for a counter operated with the point at negative potential.

Zeleny's conclusion that a high resistance layer of adsorbed gas exists at the point is adopted. In addition, the assumption is made that the field at the point at the onset of "selfcounting" is sufficient to produce auto'-electronic emission. This combination now leads to a theory which accounts for the various characteristics of the counter and explains the threshold of counting curve, the auto-counting curve, and the continuous discharge curve. Probability considerations account for the selective counting of different ionizing agents in certain voltage ranges, for the dependence of counting upon path of ionizing rays through the chamber, and for the increase of counts with increase of voltage from threshold of counting to the point where all rays are registered.