PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF A HAND-MADE RADIATION MONITOR'S POTENTIAL FOR PROVIDING ENERGY INFORMATION AS AN ADDITIONAL...

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Instrumentation
• Radiation Detection Physics

Background:

• Geiger-Muller (GM) counters are essential tools for radiation detection.
• Developing low-cost, accessible detectors is crucial for widespread educational and research applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a functional air-filled GM counter using readily available materials.
• To validate the detector's performance by demonstrating key radiation physics principles.
• To investigate the potential of the GM counter design for basic energy spectroscopy.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a hand-made air GM counter.
• Experimental verification of the inverse square law and material shielding effects.
• Measurement of the half-life of thoron gas (Radon-220).
• Simulation of alpha-particle energy deposition using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS).

Main Results:

• The developed GM counter effectively demonstrated the inverse square law and shielding principles.
• The half-life of thoron gas was accurately determined.
• Preliminary simulations and experiments suggest the detector's potential as a simple proportional counter for low-energy information.

Conclusions:

• A cost-effective, handmade GM counter can be successfully built and utilized for educational demonstrations and basic research.
• The design shows promise for extending functionality to rudimentary energy measurements.
• Further development could enhance its capabilities for more advanced radiation analysis.