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    Count Rate To Voltage

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    Riaz Jokan
    This document describes a proposed laboratory experiment to investigate how the count rate from a Geiger-Muller tube depends on the potential difference applied between its electrodes when detecting only gamma radiation. Cobalt-60 would be used as the radioactive source due to its emission of gamma rays and half-life of 5 years providing a high enough count rate. The potential difference across the GM tube would be varied using a variable power supply while the count rate is measured on a ratemeter. Aluminum shielding would ensure only gamma rays reach the detector.

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    Count Rate To Voltage

    Uploaded by

    Riaz Jokan
    509 views2 pages
    This document describes a proposed laboratory experiment to investigate how the count rate from a Geiger-Muller tube depends on the potential difference applied between its electrodes when detecting only gamma radiation. Cobalt-60 would be used as the radioactive source due to its emission of gamma rays and half-life of 5 years providing a high enough count rate. The potential difference across the GM tube would be varied using a variable power supply while the count rate is measured on a ratemeter. Aluminum shielding would ensure only gamma rays reach the detector.

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    Physics Radioactivity lab

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    count rate to voltage

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    This document describes a proposed laboratory experiment to investigate how the count rate from a Geiger-Muller tube depends on the potential difference applied between its electrodes when detecting only gamma radiation. Cobalt-60 would be used as the radioactive source due to its emission of gamma rays and half-life of 5 years providing a high enough count rate. The potential difference across the GM tube would be varied using a variable power supply while the count rate is measured on a ratemeter. Aluminum shielding would ensure only gamma rays reach the detector.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    509 views2 pages

    Count Rate To Voltage

    Uploaded by

    Riaz Jokan
    This document describes a proposed laboratory experiment to investigate how the count rate from a Geiger-Muller tube depends on the potential difference applied between its electrodes when detecting only gamma radiation. Cobalt-60 would be used as the radioactive source due to its emission of gamma rays and half-life of 5 years providing a high enough count rate. The potential difference across the GM tube would be varied using a variable power supply while the count rate is measured on a ratemeter. Aluminum shielding would ensure only gamma rays reach the detector.

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    One type of radiation detector known as a Geiger-Muller tube is shown in the Figure below.

    In order for the tube to function, a potential difference VAB, has to be applied between A and B. The count
    rate registered by an instrument connected to the tube depends on several factors such as the distance from
    the radioactive source to the thin mica window, the activity of the source and VAB. The tube can detect α, β
    and γ-radiation

    Design a laboratory experiment to investigate how the count rate due to γ-radiation only depends upon the
    potential difference VAB. You have access to the three different radioactive sources only. Information
    relating to each of these sources is given in the table below.

    Source Type of radiation emitted Half-life of source


    Radium-226 α, β and γ 1 600 years
    Bismuth-214 β and γ 20 minutes
    Cobalt-60 β and γ 5 years

    The following equipment is available, together with any other apparatus that may be found in a school
    laboratory. You can use all or select from the list, which equipment/apparatus would be useful to you in the
    experiment.

    Aluminium plates of different thicknesses, lead plates of different thicknesses; Geiger-Muller tube; scaler;
    ratemeter; metre rule; source handling tool; variable d.c. power supply; ammeter; voltmeter; connecting
    wire; signal generator.

    As part of your discussion, give a reason for the choice of the radioactive source you would use.

    There is no need to have a Conclusion

    Proposed Mark Scheme:


    1 Suitable choice of equipment and listing them
    1 Justification of choice of source
    1 Diagram of apparatus
    1 Identification of manipulated quantity VAB
    1 Method of varying VAB
    1 Method of measuring VAB
    1 Identification of responding quantity: count rate
    1 Method by which count rate is measured
    1 Procedure including method of detecting γ radiation only
    1 Suitable precaution
    Manipulated Variable: PD across GM tube. This can be measured with a voltmeter connected across the
    electrodes and the pd can be changed by connected to the DC power supply which is variable, This power
    supply is capable of outputting up to 1000 V d.c.

    Responding variable: The count rate that can be read off from the ratemeter. This is a device that is able to
    display the amount of particles detected by the GM tube every minute or second depending on the activity
    of the source.

    Control variables:
    1. The source must have a constant activity for the duration of the experiment.
    2. The distance from the source and detector must be constant.
    3. Only Gamma must be entering the tube, this can be ensured if aluminium sheet a few millimetres is
    placed between the detector and the source, this will block out all of the alpha or beta.
    4. The background count rate can be measured and subtracted from all reading so as to get the count due to
    the source only.

    Precautions:
    1. Radioactive sources with Gamma radiation must be handled with long forceps as well as wearing
    protective clothing like gloves, facemask and apron.
    2. Keep the duration of the experiment short to reduce the exposure time.

    Choice of Source:
    The most obvious is the Radium and the Cobalt since the half life is long enough. The Bismuth will have a
    count rate that will change significantly while the experiment is ongoing.

    The better choice is the cobalt-60 for the following reasons:


    1. Cobalt-60 has the gamma ray that we need.
    2. The Cobalt-60 has a short enough half life, this would mean that the activity of the source is quite high.
    This would provide a large enough count rate to be easily detectable and much larger than the
    background count rate. A direct proof of this is that Cobalt-60 is widely used as a gamma source for
    nuclear medicine in dealing with cancer.

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