Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Air conditioning impact on the dynamics of radon and its daughters concentration
Krzysztof Kozak1, Dominik Grządziel2, Bernard Połednik3
1Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Radzikowskiego 152, Kraków 31-342, Poland krzysztof.kozak@ifj.edu.pl.
Abstract:
Radon and its decay products are harmful pollutants present in indoor air and are responsible for the majority of the effective dose due to ionising radiation that people are naturally exposed to. The paper presents the results of the series of measurements of radon and its progeny (in unattached and attached fractions) as well as indoor air parameters: temperature, relative humidity, number and mass concentrations of fine aerosol particles. The measurements were carried out in the auditorium (lecture hall), which is an indoor air quality laboratory, in controlled conditions during two periods of time: when air conditioning (AC) was switched off (unoccupied auditorium) and when it was switched on (auditorium in normal use). The significant influence of AC and of students' presence on the dynamics of radon and its progeny was confirmed. A decrease in the mean value of radon and its attached progeny was found when AC was working. The mean value of radon equilibrium factor F was also lower when AC was working (0.49) than when it was off (0.61). The linear correlations were found between attached radon progeny concentration and particle number and mass concentration only when the AC was switched off. This research is being conducted with the aim to study the variability of radon equilibrium factor F which is essential to determine the effective dose due to radon and its progeny inhalation.
Related Concept Videos
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
Biological Effects of Radiation
Absorption of Radiation
Radical Reactivity: Concentration Effects
Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force...
Radical Halogenation: Thermodynamics

