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Friday, February 19, 2016

Basics of Using a Geiger Counter for Various Alpha, Beta, Gamma Detection

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This is Tom from antiproton.com making radiation understanding simple and fun


16 comments:

  1. Why doesnt he say an alpha is just a double positvly charged helium atom? Xrays and gamma rays are both photons. 0.07 microSv is very benign else he would not be uaing bare hands. Interestingly, the sound you hear isn't directly radiation but an audible representation of the avalanche process. All in all he's an amateur.Uranium also emits a gamma at 158 keV. When the gamma signature lacks this energy, then it's a pretty good sign the reactor core did not aerosol and all you are measuring is airborne fission products. If Sr90 is soooo dangerous, why is he being cavalier with handling sources? Maybe because a hundredth of a micro Sv isn't squat. Still first year nuclear students know more about handling common sources. Where is his Fiesta ware and Coleman lantern mantle. X-rays are produced when electrons slow down. It's pronounced Brem-stra-lung.

    Geiger counters are old news.

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    1. Ya I have seen him in other videos at least being more careful, I thought it a bit over the top to hold the gamma source to the side of beaker with a finger.

      Still you fail to mention the important distinction between external and internal.

      Don't worry he has that fiesta ware and mantle, seen it before.

      Delete
  2. You forget in order to be internal it as to be inhaled in massive quantities. You are more likely to inhale an alpha from radon and natural uranium than plutonium. A Geiger doesn't distinguish isotopics. I correct myself and say 185 keV

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    1. LOL massive quantities....sure or 350 micrograms, killing 52 of 52 dogs.

      Thats not massive quantities. Shame shame

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    2. Please give a citation that shows you have to have "inhaled in massive quantities" to cause harm. Or is this your opinion and not a fact.

      Nuclear is a failed science.

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    3. Define massive quantities. You realize a mole of Pu239 is 6.02e23 atoms and 239 grams. Now work backwards. Tell me how many Bq/kg would a micrograms emit. What is the uptake factor for Pu? All these factors are out there for you to find. When you start approaching the topic from a science basis and not an emotional one, you will realize the house of Cards the "plutonium is the most dangerous substance" rant really becomes. It's not the most toxic. More deaths from Dihydrogen monoxide poisoning than any compound known to man. Let's outlaw Dihydrogen monoxide!

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    4. NUke====350 micrograms, pretty much for sure kill a mammal in a few short years. PU

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  3. thanks for this ...
    I added it to my Fukushima Info page because it has a how-to section for Geiger counters.
    http://flyingcuttlefish.wordpress.com/fukushima-info/

    easy to look there once in a while when people ask on forums etc.....

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    1. Nice page, but you may want to revisit this one, it is a total banana lie pimp job chart

      http://xkcd.com/radiation/

      Delete
    2. thanks for the info :)
      I took that one off the list.

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    3. Hmm a greater than 1 Mev gamma is harmless? What will you say to all the tatal zealots?

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    4. "its the absorbed energy that is all that matters" classic lie of the nukist. Nuance is not one of their strong suits.

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    5. Absorbed energy per ICRP model. Glad you are on board with absorbed energy. Because rad or Gray in SI unit is exactly that. 1 Mev gamma from X imparts the same energy deposition as 1 Mev gamma from Y.

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    6. ICRP model is a pimp job for nukes. They consider only the "critical" organ, and then throw all other effects in the garbage.

      The nuance of how, where, and how often that energy is delivered makes ALL the difference in the world. You think you know enough, you don't, you know too much of what you been "taught"

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  4. Stock--internal dosimetry and how elaborate it is sort of depends on what you are trying to figure out. I am in a grad level internal dosimetry class now. I used to work in commercial nuclear power. If somebody at the power plant got a little bit of Co-60 inhaled --there isn't a really elaborate process to assign a 50 year committed dose.

    If some firefighters wore respirators that were found to be contaminated with plutonium, even very small amounts, there will be very very detailed calculation of dose. This will be done with a very sophisticated program like IMBA. It most certainly takes in dose to everything. Nothing will "get thrown in the garbage."

    Even if you are familiar with ICRP--it is complex stuff. Internal dosimetry is complex--painfully complex. Throwing around ICRP casually is actually comical. If you had to work with it--all the versions and publications, you would get the joke.

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    1. Ya, the joke is the only consider the "critical organ" and throw out effects on all the rest of the body, and it is based on calculations and models, not physical studies.

      "calculation of dose" it is not just energy deposition. Don't believe the lies you are being force fed.

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