Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
At long last, I cover the most well-known radiation detector of all: the iconic Geiger Counter. Though originally conceived in 1908 by German physicist Hans Geiger as part of experiments that led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus, the detector was not perfected until 1928. The Geiger counter is based around the Geiger-Müller tube, which detects radiation by using a powerful electric field to accelerate and multiply electrons produced by ionization, producing electric pulses strong enough to be easily detected and processed by simple electronics.
0:00 Introduction
1:29 Geiger, Rutherford, and Alpha Particles
3:10 Townsend Avalanches
3:44 Geiger's 1908 Detector
4:40 Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus
6:16 Geiger-Müller Tubes: Design Overview
8:10 Windowless GM Tubes
9:01 Neutron Detection
9:47 GM Tubes: Basic Function
11:07 Geiger Counter: Exterior Features
11:48 Geiger Counter: Battery System
12:50 Geiger Counter: Detection Circuit
14:35 Pulse Length Limitation
16:07 Spurious Discharges
16:31 Gas Quenching
17:55 External Quenching
18:17 Detection Limits
18:51 Proportional Counters
20:37 Outro
Canadian Army Radiation Instruments video: youtu.be/XZX_T4QVUrE
Cold War Civil Defence Radiation Instruments video: youtu.be/faJLf_k9UrI
CD 717 Gamma Survey Meter video: youtu.be/maWRvegUzqk
Spinthariscope video: youtu.be/Hyr9-uVxQKc
Scintillation Counter video: youtu.be/nNGSm3jieIM
Cloud Chamber video: youtu.be/OtcdY0oEkOQ
SOURCES
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3228631
nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/museum/geiger-counter-1908
aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/201206/physicshistory.cfm
national-radiation-instrument-catalog.com/new_page_144.htm
steemit.com/gadgets/@proteus-h/what-s-inside-a-1960s-american-civil-defense-geiger-counter
archive.org/details/Pop195710/Popular Electronics/Pop-1955-07/page/n27/mode/2up
electronics-tutorials.ws/waveforms/monostable.html
At long last, I cover the most well-known radiation detector of all: the iconic Geiger Counter. Though originally conceived in 1908 by German physicist Hans Geiger as part of experiments that led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus, the detector was not perfected until 1928. The Geiger counter is based around the Geiger-Müller tube, which detects radiation by using a powerful electric field to accelerate and multiply electrons produced by ionization, producing electric pulses strong enough to be easily detected and processed by simple electronics.
0:00 Introduction
1:29 Geiger, Rutherford, and Alpha Particles
3:10 Townsend Avalanches
3:44 Geiger's 1908 Detector
4:40 Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus
6:16 Geiger-Müller Tubes: Design Overview
8:10 Windowless GM Tubes
9:01 Neutron Detection
9:47 GM Tubes: Basic Function
11:07 Geiger Counter: Exterior Features
11:48 Geiger Counter: Battery System
12:50 Geiger Counter: Detection Circuit
14:35 Pulse Length Limitation
16:07 Spurious Discharges
16:31 Gas Quenching
17:55 External Quenching
18:17 Detection Limits
18:51 Proportional Counters
20:37 Outro
Canadian Army Radiation Instruments video: youtu.be/XZX_T4QVUrE
Cold War Civil Defence Radiation Instruments video: youtu.be/faJLf_k9UrI
CD 717 Gamma Survey Meter video: youtu.be/maWRvegUzqk
Spinthariscope video: youtu.be/Hyr9-uVxQKc
Scintillation Counter video: youtu.be/nNGSm3jieIM
Cloud Chamber video: youtu.be/OtcdY0oEkOQ
SOURCES
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3228631
nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/museum/geiger-counter-1908
aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/201206/physicshistory.cfm
national-radiation-instrument-catalog.com/new_page_144.htm
steemit.com/gadgets/@proteus-h/what-s-inside-a-1960s-american-civil-defense-geiger-counter
archive.org/details/Pop195710/Popular Electronics/Pop-1955-07/page/n27/mode/2up
electronics-tutorials.ws/waveforms/monostable.html
