Geiger counter

Uncommon card · No. 84215

A Geiger counter (, GY-gər; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental physics and the nuclear industry. It detects ionizing radiation such as alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays using the ionization effect produced in a Geiger–Müller tube, which gives its name to the instrument. In wide and prominent use as a hand-held radiation survey instrument, the Geiger counter is perhaps one of the world's best-known radiation detection instruments. As such, the phrase Geiger counter is often used generically to refer to any form of dosimeter (or, radiation-measuring device), but scientifically, a Geiger counter is only one specific type of dosimeter. The original detection principle was realized in 1908 at the University of Manchester, but it was not until the development...

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