etection of Radioactivity

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Background Radiation: Basics

 Background radiation is the radiation that is always present around us in the environment
 Background radiation is the radiation that is present all around in the environment

 Although most background radiation is natural, a small amount of it comes from artificial
sources, such as medical procedures (including X-rays)
(Radiation from Nuclear Power come to less than 0.1% of the total)
 Levels of background radiation can vary significantly from place to place

Detecting Radiation

 When radiation passes close to an atom, it knocks out electrons, ionising the atom
 Radiation detectors work by detecting the presence of these ions or the chemical changes
that they produce
 Examples of radiation detectors include:
o Photographic film (often used in badges)
o Geiger-Muller (GM) tubes
o Ionisation chambers
o Scintillation counters
o Spark counters

 
 A Geiger-Muller tube (or Geiger counter) is a common type of radiation detector

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