i\:th

' I\ 200
t\\ -
f\ 6 l
&adltj'L, NUCLEAR PHYSICS
1
Refer to Short An.,wer Q. 13.)
·i· • Calculate the work functioo of Na metal in eV; given that the threshold wavelength is 6800A AIM!
t
I ii note thnt l eV = 1·6 x 10-19 J.
I~-¢, ~hvo • );"1
["" l ·83 eVJ ;;
:!
(
I
t
7. In an experiment with potassium 11s the photometal, electrons arc found lo be ejected with a 11pecd
!
of 10 krn/s ; find the frequency of light used. Work function or K • 2·3 cV. (5 •55 x 10'4 Hz]
•r\<
•I
1
{¢0 + -m v2}

2
f .!:!!!!,!. h v = ¢ 0 + }m v (Einsteio's photo~lecric eq~~tion) ·readily givc11 the frequency : 11ATIO N
1
V:: h2 J' DRTa CTOR S
• 'I
8. Prove by calculating that visible light juM can't be used for demonstrating the Compton effect. • '1.1. INTRODUCTION
( ~ . See Short Answer O. !6) • 1
In the preceding chapters, we have dealt with some sort of radiation, here and there. We now wish
to sec how such udiations are actually detected, qualitatively as well a~ quantitatively. The study of
9. A beam of X-rays is scattered by the loosely b'?und electrons al 45" from the direction of the beam, . radio-activity and the successful use of radiations as research tools or for various other purposes depend
The wavelength or the scattered X-rays is O•22 AWhat is the wavelength of X-rays in the direct on the quantitative detection and measurement or radiation. We often need these parameters :
benm? [s:::10•213AJ (1) The nwnbcr of particles (a,{J, protons, neutrons etc.). This is called the radiation nux giving
10. isShow that
0· 707 c, the de-Broglie wavelength of a particle is equal lo its Compton wavelength if its velocity the number/sec received by the detector,
(2) The e11ergiu of the particles received.
f Hint. de-Broglie wavelength at a velocityv is..t =..!!__,while the Compton wavelength is-1!.._. We already know [chapter 6) that a charged particle paMing through matter causes excitation and
tI
- mv m .c ionization of its atoms/molecules. This io11ization is the basis ofnearly all the detection instruments. Similar
Usmg • the1r• equaJity and m = "J'. mo , we get v = -;,,,. c 1 0 1
instruments can be used for uncharged radiation (X-rays, y-rays, neutrons) as these radiations impart
Vi 1 = v2/c2 v I. energy to the 'ionized' matter.
II
I.1'
fl 11. Compute the ma,cimum energy of the Compton-recoil electrons resulting from the absorption of.
Different types of instruments differ in the material (which is ioniud) and the way Lhis ionizalion
I
2·04MeVy-raysbyAI. (P.U.1996)
is observed or measured. Many instruments are based on the production or ionizatio,1 in a gas : Thi!
,I1 12, The linear absorption coefficient of 1 McV gamma.rays in lead (Pb) is 78m- 1. Find the thickness
~:1 quick separation and collection of the ion-pain i.r usential because, otherwise, they can re-combine. 1
111 of lead required to reduce by half the intensity of a beam of such gamma rays. In that case of recombining, their presence or formation can't be electrically 'sensed'. ''
!j f
(P.U.199S S, 96 S, 97) For separationofions, suitablcelectJwlaticfieltb are needed. Whether these fields arc small, large,
13. The linear attenuation coefficient for 2 MeV r·ray bearn in water is 5 m-l. (i) Find tbe relative or intermediate makes the instruments different. See these facts in article 7.3.
Iii
int.ensity of this beam after it has passed through 20 cm of water. (h) How far must such a beam Ionization may also be produced in a liquid, or a
travel in water before its intensity is reduced to 5% of it& original value ? (solid). Wh~n it is produced in a 'gas
(P. U. 19911) supersaturated with vapour', or in a'photographiccmut~on', the tracks of the particles can be made visible.
14. A photon of wavelength O•OS Ais scattered through 90° by a free electron. Find the frequency and When particles strike ccrtian liquid or solid materials (phosphors) having the property of luminiscence,
,,.i/ energy of the photon after interaction. (P.U. 1998 S) part of the energy already used up in excitation and ionization of the atoms/molecules is re-emitted. This
If! .may be in the visible or U.V. regions. Such scintillations are either visible with the naked eye or with certain
_!!_ (1 - cos 0) with ,l and 0 given. This gives ..t' so that v'
{Hlnt. Use..l' - ,l = mo,c =,;.. gives the other devices.
;,,fi.1/
!
A.
frequency and E' = hv' the energy of the photon aftor inlcraclio.n.] Yet another property of radiation is laSCd i:1 certain other detectors-they affect a photographic
15, Wh11t is compton shift in W-dvelength when the scattering angle islf? ,, plate. In summary:
11/
1; (G.N.D.U. 2002, H.P.U. 200.1) \'..
(a) Ionization Chamber, Proportional Counter, and Geiger Muller Counter (G.M. Counter) fall
in the first category of "gas (based) ionization detectors'.
rt
ri: l6. Calculate the energy of a r·ray photon required lo produce a proton[Ans. 6A-= ,l' -,\
and antiproton = 0·0484
of K.E. AJ
10 MeV These measure electrical chargt.r wociated with the charged ions to be detected. The ~horl
cue/,. Given : mass of protp.n = 1 •007825 a.m.u. (P.U. 2001/) electrical pulses are detected a.nd information needed obtained.
1/
I ' [Hint. Y&crgy = 2 (938 •3 MeV + 10 MeVJ; 1 a.m.u. a 931 McVJ [Ans. 1896. 6 MeVf .
,,
(b) Scintillation Cou.nters
. use the scintillation..,.....or,. nuorescence effect.
--·- - ·t
--====== ===-...~- --~~-----~ -------·---
\'' .;, ~'
VNv
 ----. i i·s :'!l
.t._ tJ
:;:
. . .., -~
.. -..o
e, ,;, '
-I \
RfdlatilJII D11l11ctors ------------- i te.:
•?J ii Pradttp•s NUCLEAR PHYSICS
It is of interest to note here that because of largt.rpecific ionizat/011, 2Hc• (a-par lic~ p , ~ \ .....
If
202 ' .
;JI Ji De1cc1ors like the scintillation -counter and Cerenkov detector/counter, etc. actually moa.~ure
,,
produce reasonably strong (or hirge) pulses across R. These can therefore be cosily counted, say, Wilb •
ionization chamber. But with P-pnrtide/1 and y-rays (photoos) having quite a low 11pccific ionization, l t
-
'optir.al energy'. Extremely short pulsu of light are converted into short electrical pulses that are suitably
pulse size (height) is difficult to detect. In such a case, large siud ionization chamben are used ond the
~· .1
. rccorcled .
original pulse height is considerably amplified. The energy los11 of the charged particle as it move& inside
(c) Semi-conductor Detectors use crystals.
11··11
~- i
. '
(ti') Cloud Chamber. Bubble Chamber, Spark Chamber, Nuclear Emulsions fall in the
category/class of 'track-chambers'.
the chamber depend& on its K.B.
. In practice, there arc two type.r of ionization chainbcrHhc no11.. integrating type (as dc.c.cribc<l in Pig.
7.1) and the l11teg,atlng type. As the name suggests, in the non-integrating type detector, eucb incident
iF These are visual detectors because the track of the particle to be d11tectcd is photographed. The particle causing ioni1.arion in the ga~ i.s recorded separately. In the integrating type version, however, the
'! photocrnrh on clo~cr examination and analysis tells about the energy as well as nature of the particle ionil.ation pulses (for. each of the particles) arc not sepllrnted. Rather, their combined effective charge
involvc<l. builds up a certain electric current. The choice of each type depends on what is commonly known as the
,,1 Thus the various instruments used for the detection of nuclenr radiation arc: 'response time' of the sylitem. For smaller response times, each pulse caused by an ionizing particle can
,nil (a) Ionization Chamber, very easily be detected separately and hence recorded. But for larger response limes, obviously the
Integrating type chamber L~ the natural choice. And the quantity measured here is the total Ionization
I,!
•1)\ 'I (b) Proportional Counter.
il l produced by incident radiation rather than the number of individual particles (pulses).
'Iii :. (c) G.M. Counter,
' (d) Scintillation Counter, . . _Remarks : 1. Different types of the particles but of the same energy will produce different levels of
~onizat.aon (number n) even in'travcrsing the aame path length. About 35 eV is needed to produce an
l, :j
(c) Semiconductor Detectors,
(/) Cerenkov Detectors,
1on-pa1r,
Ch ~• ~epend~g upon the applied voltage, this type of a detector can be used as· an Ionization
(J:) Nuclear Emulsions, _/m r, roport,onal Counter, or even a G.M. Counter. We discuss this a.spcct in article 7.3 and article
(h) Bubble Chamber, 7
(i) Spark Chamhcr, and 3, For a 1 MeV incident paricle, we may have 30,000 ion pairs before it is slopped, i.e.,
*
,,
II~ 3 X tn4,
,i' (j) Cloud Chamber, etc.
p
7.2. IONIZATION CHAMBER 4. If C be the capacitance of the ionization chamber and R the resistance, then, the product RC is
:;Ii' called the 'response time' of this system. Dimensionally also, farad x ohm = second.
;i It consists of a tube (cylinder) filled with a suitable gas (like argon)1 t\\o electrodes'. The central
i wire is maintained at a very high voltage ,.,.-.,. ..,...-- ------ ------ ----, S. It is lo be noted that forve,ysmall values of the potential difference V, the rccombinatioo of ions
I' 2
( +) w.r.uhccylindcr (-) • The two ends,~~: dQminates and there is hardly any ion-separation. As the p.d. is gradually increased, the re-combination
,, have thin mica windows. " 14 ,ocm ,N of ions is hardly there. This fact is illustrated in Fig. 7.3 also.
6. The pulse height in the ionization chamber region is practically independent of the applied
t
d, When a photon/particle ionizes (+)Argaul: ecmor
t voltage. Notice that the graph in this region of Fig. 7.3 is almost horizontal..
I,
Lhe gas, the ions get separated. For max
smaller pot. differences, someofthemcan J.J-}_ Hg (low pra11ure) PROPORTIONAL COUNTER
Ol/lpul IN
re-combine. The height of the output volt- R
A proportional counter is basically the same as the ionization counter, but with a differenu of its
pullo
.,
age pulse accross the load R depends on
the number of the ion-pairs formed
(.1 V cc 11) per unit length of the tube (i.e.,
-. rt l
H.T. ± J" operational.voltage. In this device, a voltage of about 200 V to 800 V is applied to the collection electrodes.
ThU.\ the gas ions produced by the incident particle/radiation in the gas chamber are sufficiently
accelerated. In other words, if the voltage applied to an Ionization Chamber is increased beyond a certain
ii!
r
~pecific ioni1.ation) as well as the separa-
----- ----- ----- ---''
tion between the electrodes (i.e. the tube FIGURE 7.1. Schematic diagram of Ionization Chamber - - ··- ~ ·- - - -

value, the electrons (of the ion pairs produced) acquire s11fficient energy while moving toward the anode
(+).Thus more ion-pairs arc created (scw~!!.d~ry ion pairs) along their path. The resulting 'ggs multiplica-
•I~ f radius). tion factor' or AVALANCHE of secondary electrons reaching the anode may he 1000 times more intense
than the first case • Thus, much largtr output voltage pulse (6 V) is obtained. Within a certain rang~ of
1
Thu~
charge of n pairs of ions applied voltages, 6 Vis proportional to the original number of ion pairs . That is why the device (within
1
fl V _ Q
- C = capacitance of the chamber such range) is called a 'proportfonal counter'.
'Ii' 19
.!!.!!., = (3 X 104) X (1;6 X 10- C) = 4, 8 X l0-4 V Argon is usually filled ia the Ionization Chamber tube to enhance the sensitivity of the device by
i:I ' a= Cap. (10 X 10- 11 P) providing mok target atoms for the incident radiation. Argon has high density for this purpose but it als.o
Obviously, R can only be small. t. i.e. that of nn Ionization Chamber.
.l:l.lw,
t. either a pair of parallel plates":or a metal cylinder and a central wire, as In Fig, 7.1. 2. eiv, « 11 (very 11\rge) make., it convenient on the log scale: tN « tog n. Sec Flg. 7.3.
2. About 10 V-200 Vof H.T. is used. It is 'very high' In relative term.,; thc.gap between the electrodes is
l
\' .,J
 !.:. C
...
I
;:;·
::n :, ._
o a
(')
g-. _Q.-...;. 205
- · c,,
t; ::, Radlatlo,a D,t,cw r,
... - Q.
; i. a
:::·
• b- ....

,:,
- Qi 0 Pradetj,'1 NUCLEAR PKVSICS
::,
HIOH PRIMARY
arc de-excited, tho resulting energy
,as a problem: It has some long-lived excited state.~; when these slates ,J! I •~ailn 'l'l~
g. for accurate counting or the incident
release m;iy causo discharge in the tube. And strictly speakin
:'!!L
1 I
''i/ I I I
. To rapidly de-excite these statca
radiation (particles), such a discharge cause., ero11eous (false) counting
I
in t.h~.8~19.b.tm.~~-\.W.M.w.i.tb
of Ar, through collisions, a mixtr,rt of..1~th_E~!yatomic g~_iscan either haw thin windows of mica or
t e
I
I I
I
I
GEIG!R MULL!R
REGION
:
10% methane is one such mocture used. A proportional counter used for a particle detection, *·,; I
,
I
I
I (FlAT PlATeAU I U
t
I I REOIOtf
ev'en-afii"iiii11ium. It can even be windowless flow-type counter as
).
... - I
&
I
1,I
To guard again.~t the possible dis- Anode
'a
tortiom; of the radial field employed for l
i
R1clu1 '1'
J ion-separation, counters arc sometimes Coupling
fitted with guard-tllbc electrodeJ also. In-
Capacitor 4
-
i
fl
-~ l •
I II. I
. :i .A'
tensive experimentation has proved that
I ii'
Incident
the 'gas-multiplication factor', or the 'gas
3 •
Radiation
amplification factor', depends on the (i) __.
- --+
anode diameter, (ii) cathode (tube) radius, Thin
y
(iii) applied voltage, and (iv) nature of the w.n: x I 11111 I
filled gas (gases). The co-axial geometry of V i4 A LOW PRIMARY IONIZATlal ~,
1
+V5
the electrodes is preferred. Let 'b' be the +½ •v,. +v, +v,
radius of the cylinder (cathode) and 'a' the
radius of the central co-axial wire (anode). FIGURE 7.2. A Proportlonel counter Working Set-up. <IOO 800 800 1000 1200
Aeld Ex at a dlstence x Is mnrked from the central
200
Then for an applied voltage V between wire anodo where Its value Is max, APPU!O POT. DIFFERENCE (V)
1 these electrodes, the electric field strength vel'SU! applied voltage,
- -
FIGURE 7 .3. Curws showing total Ion collection (on log scale)
n at a distance 'x' from the wire is given by [sec Fig. 7.2) to Ul~trate the Ionization·, proportional·, Gelg~Muller-reglon
of operation, as
,u V n detection ;.;_;...nts.
instrume
I!: E = -- used In electrlcal lonlzetlo
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.;_,;.;. ..;...;..
__.;.;.. ;.~;.... ;..__;.. .....;.;~ ----·-
x lo&, (bla) ... (7.1) de) ~p~i:id~ _to s/o_w__neutro_!l;_S by
A proportional~!°-~-~~ f1'lc4~~~ ti!~ g~aJ3F ~oron trifluori
i{ .r
!1;
order of 1<>6 volVnr just atthe wire a)~Li
3
For b = 1 cm, a = 0•1 cm and V = 800 volt, E., may be oflhe ~------
!
means of the nuclear-~~ction B (11 1He~) Li or 13io· (n,
7
7
1 • • -
10
causing gas multiplication (or avalanches).
I
, 5
H ,..._,_____ __ ...... ··--·-- ---
{
3
itself'" == a = O•1 cm). Such high intensity fields are capable of :> the energy content of even the
5
Because the energy content of the a-particles (1.47 MeV) :>
,lj
counted, reasonable pulse heights are
.,l
Notice that = ~bl ) (for x = a). ,. ... (7.2) y-radiation present in environments where'neutrons arc to be
• • n 1o~ a obtained. These pul5es arc different from they-ray background
present.
E P o x
~!
r along the central positive wire methane) can be used to lktcct.
As the gas ionizes, due to the passage of a particle into l he chambe A proportional counter filled with a hydrogenous gas (like ethane,
the avalanche electrons {tiny charged recoiling after collisions with them. A
(or close to it), the applied field tends to separate these ions. While fast neutron.1. It is through the ionization produced by protons
i..] masses) are collected rapidry, the bulky positive ions tend to cancel
the effect of these electrons. With the
), the wire potential begins to change. y-background is, again, to discriminate against.
drifting of these bulky ions towards the body of the cylinder (cathode particles producing ionization in
C M ) '
. In fig, 73, the three curves marked (a), (b) and (c) arc for
'•
\J
n1at affects the rise of the pulse. levels, could be for a-particles. Likewise,
extended pressure ranges (very low increasing order. The curve (c), showing the highest ionization
Proportional counters of different sizes, and filled with gases at the curve (a) showing the lowest ionization may be for P· or y-radiat
ion.
to very high) have been in operation. the G.M. Counter.
the ionization chamber, it is better N,8. We shall again refer back to this sketch while discussing
A'i the 'rise ti,,ie' of a pulse in this chamber is shorter than that in
learn that a 1Scintillation Counter' is still ' GEIGER..MULLER (MUELLER) COUNTER (G.M. COUNTER)
equipped to handle:Lhc high radiation intensity. Later we shall counter. That is, it is based on the
better. A G.M. counter falls under the same category as a proportional
tions like the determination of s is passed through it. Actually, al a
The amplifying ability of a proportional counter is useful in applica principle of ionization of a gas whenever a stream of charged particle
s from the~- -decay of tritium ( 1H3) with es, the secondary ionization (or indirect
the 'energy spectrum' of a low-energy radiation like the electron certain higher potential difference applied between the electrod
• ionization) is caused by the electrons.
KE.mu = 18 keV. detection device for charge<l
record the pulse magnitudes. A G.M. counter is a very useful, extremely sensitive, and popular
The procedure for thi5 is : add tritium to the ga.'i cylinder and particles. It is to be noted here that a G.M. cOlmter operates at
a high~, voltage (about 900 V to 130()" V ;
even though neutrons do not ionize. ional counter can, a G.M. counter
Proportional counters can also be used to detect neutrons, see fig. 7.3) than a proportional counter. Furthem,ore, while a proport
by the emission ofa chargtdpa,ticle,
The absorption of a neutron by an atomic nucl~s-usiillly followed ..
tive decay of the product nucleus. ThiJ ...
or a gamma ray. It may be due to a nuclear reaction or the radio-ac
...~...u:.,,oi•..tiqo can el;lsilv b,~ detected.
r
'
'\··
if\ I
I \ i,%.• ~;ol•.j
I . .. 84dlal f•• D•,,, _

1-.~-%
't
·::.
:) "o,;.·.;
.,:...i
O ...
O ,::.
.- c1
.- _?:':. -0
l-" Q c:.
u :;~~ ··2• '"
211(, ·- - ' ,._ i S.'"
--- --- - Prgdm ,.i NUCLEAR PHYSICS ·~ fall ;, t,,ge enough to •op the di~
..----------- - - - - - - - - - · &) " -=' " '6, ·t •
• cm1 't disti11g11islr Ilia ion so,m:e.v (from r-- --- --- --- --- --- --- -- • D-' This .....
ar""-
.. - riod ofter , each counl V p. ~-~ ---- ,
Rotolvlng--~L • ";, '.s ';, ·'1, l
.- o
. - --+-- o •
• m1r anntlir r) from tire p11lu l1cigl1t.f
produced. Notice here that there is only
,., n1
du,b>•D whid> the countcn• lnadl" • VoRIO'
ch
, 0
'""''
Tim• _ _...i
=--:~~.,, .-a .s:, E '- ·t:. .;.\
· "'·~ _. ol O • •
OlauVnael
knowna1thodead•tlmeofthecounter. (P.O.) d ..__-. -, ~-,....-.- 1J
one branch of the curve left in this region ti'
(between voltages V and Vs). Earlier
'(Cyllnderlctl) I
The counter recovers to detect a new • i; •- '
4 ,' '"':V-'•" YYfrlr "'10Q9 I \
i .S
I there were three branches (a), (b), (c) of Gi• M•ict particle
I
1
•....
I L r_- _
p;g. 15)but th~ recovery i, atow, (See
Deld-tim c& may be u high
.•
., '
, I

.
the curve. However, as an advantage
over the proportional counter, a G.M. Thin I
counter produces p11lse.1· of mucl1 largf.r Mttafllo or
size. But, the pulse height is i11dcpende11C Mica Wll'ldow
Cathode
(Cyllnder1cal)
R
Outpul
Puit.
(To the
Amplllltr)
., t,•
Iii~
1'

SOO /U· Anothu method cmi,loYI on

electronic circuit to remove the
counter voltage (or a short period Im•

11
•~
""""~ "' .,. \Vov,. ..,.
°"""'"t .,,.
Re~ery
\VOP-l
~'
V
or the amount of primary ionization ,..4r,t, ty after a count. The dead 1'me
- 11l11 • I tlmel of about 40 aliowed , JIOlh
O , • 10 11 f2
(originnlly procluccd by the particle to the above techniqµ1 UC
ues are knoWn
· as IX· - counter FJGUREThe 7 ,6.
11fflO ...8 < nd<00-
hr deterted). The skeletal structur -=-e,1111 sumDeal tlmtwo
of the a timesRecovehIs t rye Rtlmeo
esoMlna Gtl.M.
me.
e of a
$
G.M. counter remains almost the same FIGURE 7.4. Essentials of a G.M. Counter with a
t·
., as that for an Ionization Chamher. It is _ _ . co-axial electrode s~em. ternal qucnc
Bui thehi ng methS'
disch" od•·
.,.. ,tso be quco<h cd tot,mal
• lJ-A p,,1ya1omic ga, lik< tlhyl olcchol;, filled at
' a co-axial system of two ~le~trodcs (sec fig. 7.4)'. i.e. tungsten wir~
_ , con<Cnt,Olb>• (- 10%) into th• .nsd>a<s< 1obe,TIU•
of cled,ons r,om tbccod,od, ,u,fo<I by posilh<> ion OOffibardmtnt
qucnd>b agent a<tu,lly P""'"" the"' '""
>g
The electrodes an: kept inside a glass
a surrounded by a cylindcricul cathode. ~d.m• initia) dischM_S' stops at an
vessel which may be filled with a suitable gas mixture for quenching
ll1, purposes. A good G.M. counter should not only be very sensitiv
should be extended to over 200 V range. e to incoming radiation, its plateau region
,ppropri'1e tlm•. TheRl•<0, only - ..,.1,nchc u rcal•,cd
G.M, -tor s coma ;n-y 1izes and operati ng (,nd
fo, cad> !°""'"'l ~rt,clo rCOO'ved• ,
quencln og) ,.,,.i,o os, The ..,ode w,rc ~y
b,,. a .na-c r of 0.01 cm, JI rn•Y 1,a,e argon I!" '1 a pr....,
'' '
,,, Wh~n the .voltage applied to a ~as-~lle d ~etecto r is raised sufficien tly, ethyl akohol at , pudal P'"'"" of 1 cm of Ilg may be uwl-
. of 10 om of Hg. For internal quench••&
the avalanche o[ secondary The operating ,oltag• m•Y be around
fi dectrons (10n pairs) near the central wire as very mtense. It spreads out along the entire length of the wire; to' v. Halogens ""' also been u...S rcccntly .. quenchb >g agtnll : Br,
ii i~ 1101 lora/i1ed as in the case of a proport ional counter o< C~ at O·01 cm of Hg .,;th Ne
. The reason for this 'spread' is that inner a.', well at 10 cm prcuorc or Hg. lo mw of bigb chemic
11s oul er ntomic electron s arc now al ,o:!Mty
;' excited in collisio ns: As these excited clec:trona fall back to their inner of b,loge •• suitable matcri,t, a,e nccdcd to
(ground) levels of energy, U .V. photon serve as electrodes. Su~h counters may need relatively lower
. s(.\ "" 1000
enough to cause ionization of more gas atoms that are a bit away
A or 10- 7
m) arc emitted, These photonsare energetic
from the wire.
Wbon the,olt ,ge krai<cd ,,,.,. the Ocigc< region (alsooperati catl,dng voltages.
pt,..,u ,.gton bccau, c of its shape),
I the • - • d l o • io round to bo u,complctc. Herc, one
'r
Let us underst and how b>~ial ;n,omi,,g particle rn•Y gi,e rise to mo,.
I
I
it works. When single charged thon ••• oounl, The ,..,. rate •
electrons arc produced through gas ionization. As these electron particle enters the G.M. (gas) tube,
a duo to tbc,c ,punou s output
s proceed towards the central po.,itive r,tc). AJ. still bipcr opc,,tb>g ,olhge&. the oo,mtcr ,ctua pu1,c, i, on th• higher side (than the true • \:
wire, they cause further ioni7.ati on, the seconda lly- b>to oanUnuou, dischar s• (.,;tlwu t , ·'
ry ionizati on. At
electrons at the central wire is quite high. As a result, there thi~ stage, the collection rate of those qucnd,ing), ~tMously, llul ,tgion IJ of no P""'i"' "''· R,,Jhtr,
The life oh "?untc, with halogc,s io IOOSC! than .,;th a,,..,. 11 do•gtr ofdamage ro the o,be. , ,.i
is a current pulse across R. It is suit«bly
,t.lj
I
amplified and counted with a counting device attached. It is
amplified pulse for each incident charged particle evident by now that the counter records an· bcca\1$e the halogen ions ( + ve and -ve) have a strong tendenc
polyatomic pl
y to recombine, forming
like mcthan e
neutral
(CJI.). It ;, , I
passing through the tube. mole cules ·\
But soon the gas discharge stops (in a few micro-seconds). When (oo . di,socla
For dclcotio• ultimate ly).ountin
become so numerous 1, the electric field near the wire is the positive ioos (that move slowly) tb>g/c ~•-~ "!dP;porticlcs of a,odc,a tcly •
reduud below that needed for moro ionization by the .,.,dows ~~-T he ~ n g ~~,: y • hlgb. Rarely iower tn"gi ,. oouotcr > .,;th thin
11 electrons. Even a single ion-pair can initiate an can the
of type and energy of the passing particle. Such a gas-fille
avalanc he; therefore, the pulse height is the same irrespective· tubo) of '" !°"""'3 oow,tcr
pn,Yldld ,t dau not omw during lh• dead-dm< of lh• count.,
•nuss• th•,,. .... (through its
. The 00006"8
I
t d detector is called even a Gelger counter.
t.ff1etency with y-radiat1on \S wry poor.
i
Quenching. There is a stage during the working of a G.M. counter
as 'quenching'. Quenching means limiting or restricti which requires what is known Advantages of a G.M. counter:
ng the dischar ge. Let us see how the need arises for .1, lt can detect
it. The positive ions produced during an 'avalanc he' in particle s coming at a fairly fast rate.
the counter arc acted upon by the same elearic'.al 2. lt can bo used for detecting charged particles (a-,P - particle
I' forces as the electrons. But the electron s arc very active being s, protons etc.)
f: 'light' while the + ve ions being very bulky
can only be thought of as almo~l at rest during an avalanc he. 3, Pulse height is reasonably large.
But these +ve ions formed mainly along,
;ind close to, the central wire, gradual ly drift outward s to 4, The pulse size is indepen
the cathode (See Fig. 7.4 again). Arter their dent or tbc nature and energy of the incident i~ns.
arcclcration upto the cathode, some of these ions are energet
nr.ed of quenchin,r arises here, to 'check'
ic
other words, a second avalanche has just begun. A succusion enough to knock out electrons from it. In
ofdlscha,gu ofthe same type will follow. The
, 5, Portable sW: of the solid-stale ,..,ion of a oountcr makes
it ,cry u,cful in ,ario"' field, '°"' ;,
the discharg e. cosmic ray research.
There are many quenching methods available. One method, Umltatlons of a G.M, counter :
a very large series resistance R (see Fig. 7.4), When that is now a days rarely used, is to use 1.'Uncharged particles cannot be 'rec;orded'.
a large current pulse occurs (across R), the momentary 2;'Additiona\ components
voltage drop causes the fall in the G.M. tube voltage to a value
lower than its voUage (VIll) thrc1hold. This . · 3. ~ccausc of thc,c ~,....like amplifier, counter etc. are
...., the o,eraU bulk rendmneeded .
the ,.. of , G.M. ,:ountcr limited- po,
1. With more and more ionization, obviously, a large number uistancc, 1t cannot bo used in balloons to study cosmic rays.
While the electrons arc faster,
of gas alOIDS have already become lon-palra,
these +ve ions arc slower u they arc mauive. ·~ ID(
,fr> .\'•
(\(Yv \ r -::.
 l't . f\. '/
~1 j
&~
/! ____, l'radecJ>'1 NUCLEAR PHYSICS
it \:I
R4dinlio1J D•t•ctor_!
l09
r~ith the 11!,oge, the thrcahold voltngc or n G.M. counter i~ raised, i.e., V,h become~ higher. : ·. De.pendencc of output pulse hc_i~t on the incident particle energy, and hence energy lost, can be
5. It is i11scnsitiva for u brier period or .1bout 200 to 400 µ., arter cnch pulse (dead time). 5CCn u discussed below. The pulse height V at the (fanal stage) output is related to the total charge
6. The n11t plateau region gets reduced/limited with u~e. (Sec Fig. 7.3 again) collected at the output q, through the capacitanc:d of the system C, as
V • q/C ... (7.3)
ii.. !Rcmnrk : A G.M. counter wus first used by Rutherford (Geiger and Marsden were his co-
workers/aMocintcs) in 1908 to count a-particles for finding their charge, and soon after, in 1911 to study . Let B, be the Initial •nergy of the incident particle first juat while entering the counter, and p the
that historical a-scattering experiment,) probability or absorption of this energy by the phosphor. The energy dissipated (lost) in the phosphor is
• SCINTILLATION COUNTERS B, E .p = 1
... (7 .4)
In some early physics experiments (like in radio-activity), a-particles were detected by the 'light This energy is convmul into photons or average energy E,, • hv, so that 1he number of photons
flashes' or 'scintillations' produced when they struck certain materials. These materials, like ZnS, barium
plntinocynnide, and diamond etc. arc known as phosphors or scintillators1. The individunl flashes were fomted is (Refer to Fig, 7.7, sub-unit ll
counted ma11ua/ly provided the count rates were (s)low, using a low-power microscope. Thi& technique ..., = Available Energy .., E,.11,, =-
E,, = hv hv
(7 S)
wns tiri11g. A G.M. counter, Inter, replaced such scintillation counters, 1' 1 hv ' ... •
Rutherford :ind his contemporaries bad tried ZnS (1foc sulphide)- coated screens for the a•scnl• where rJ,, is the efficiency of conversion. H/,, is the fraction of the photons falling on the photocatho<le
tering experiments. Crystalline napthalcnc and anthraccne ( organic crystalline phosphors), highly purified and T,, the optical transpartncy {see sub-unit 21, then, the numbu of photons actually falling on the
toluene, triethyl benzene, and mineral oil are some of the solutes used in liquid phosphors. Very large
volume detectors can be built with liquid scintillator tanks. 7711u large lDrJf!t areas may be available, that ph~ocathodt is N1 =/,,.N,.T,. ...(7.6)
are good even for the weak signals. The natural radio-activity of K-40 in human body hass~cccssfully been
mensured (detected) by building large liquid systems that surround an individual during counting. It is As thue photons are converted into photo-electrons, we can find the number of photoelectrons
-f~scinating to mention here that the extremely weak signals produced by v and v• (neutrin~ and anri-
ne~trinos) coming out of a nuclear reactor were first detected in a similar, large, liquid scintillation system. formed at the photo-cathode N .,. N1.11,.f (v), ...(7 .7)
A scintillation counter, m,ived in 1947, uses a phosphor, either in solid or liquid form, that is
transparent to the light produced. The light flashes are detected by means of a photomultiplier tube in a where 'le stands for the photo-elutrlc convmion efflcieney of the photocathode, and/ (v} for its
modern scintillation counter. relative frequency response. Not all of thue photo-electron.s reach the [int dynode. If /c be the [raction 0£
A photomultiplier actually amplifies the initial output of photoelectrons from a suitable cathode these electrons reaching the 1st dynode of the set of dxnodes having 'electron (ga!) multiplication factor'
by secondary emission or more electrons at tacit successive dynode2 . (See Fig, 7.6.J A photomultiplier tube m, the total number of electrons reaching the last dynode is
may have 10 or more such dynodcs, each giving 2 to 5 secondary electrons per incident electron. A total N ""/•.Nm. ...(7.S)
gain of a million or more is achieved3• It is subject to dynode-to-dynode light coupling lo.~e.~· and 1
photo-cathode sensitivity variations. The entire process is very rapid. The particles can be distinguished in Each of these electrons carries a negative charge e, so that for
some counters even if they arrive at time intervals of~ 10-9 s. q ""N,.e, ... (7.9)
The energy lost in the scin- ,------------------ ----------, we can go back to equation (7.3) :
tillation by an incident particle 2OOV o400V soov 800V 1000V SIGNAL
N,.e f41JJl,,f-,.T,,.11d (v)f,m.e
determines the height of the out- FINALLY
PICKED V =C"" ·, hv.C • ...(7.10)
I
\.
put pulse. If the (incident) par- UP
HERi!
ticle slops completely, its energy
We have obviously used eqns. (7 .4) through (7.9). Thus we see thal V oc E1 so that the pulse Ji eight
can be determined. More ener- ' ll. ,• , ' ll
getic particles can be slopped depends on the incident particle energy•
,, (j and their energies measured. The consecutive dynodes have an accelerating voltage of 100 V. The amplified signal is finally collected
Due to the advantage of greater at .a plate, locatedjwt at t h e ~ right of chi photo multiplier tube (but inside it), and detected by a sensitive
density of the sensitive volume I CATHOOE micro-ammeter in seriC5 with a resistor. The voltage pulse is then fed to an electronic monitor/recorder
vis-a-vis the gas-filled counters. 1O0V 30OV SOOV 700V 90OV
They, thus, possess higher ab- SECONDARY {Sub-unit
~3 y in Fig.
s 7.7).
, as we know, are the mo.st penetrating and so eaiser to analyze. Sodium iodide crsytuls
ELECTRONS
sorption for the incident radia- [Nal mixed with thalliumlTI)} are wuulyustd/orcountingandenergyevalualio n ofy-rays. Thallium absorbs
tion. FJGURE 7 .6. A schematic sketch of a photo-multlpller - . 1
tube with 10 dynodes (gain -107 or so). the ultra-violet light emitted by Nal and ,e,-emits visible light. Photomultiplier tubes can thus be used. •
Orgaak sdntHlators (in crystal, plastic, or liquid form) give rise to shorter pulses than inorgamc
1. T. V. picture tubes are also coated with such moterials; they 'glow' on being struck by the electron beam.
2. The electrodes/plates given successively higher voltages are called dyoodcs.
3. For instance, (5) 10 - 107.
l scintillators [such as Nal (Tl) scintillator]. But these areltu.1 efficient in converting absorbed energy into
visible light. A schematic sketch of a modified (modern) detector is given in Fig. 7.7.
._.......
f
,'/J) '\•
A/Vv\r·
 e \ ..,
\•-:-&i IAg \ i ..l 'At l"' g :! 1
- \
--
~1\i ft\~--\,\~
.'! ''l ! f.
- - ~-P. 1,..-~ \ :$ ,a°?>
I> 0, '
ZIO -
Prodfd ', NUCLEAR PHYSICS :!
-====;;.....---- -...;. <
Rdtllatlon Drt~ctor1 4
~~%1\Pl~l ,e\
'5 II-
---~
i:. "' t,
Hole .,_ " I\ lo?
a
w
=,
' RADIATION o O
O I I e o 0 °0"o 1 f',\•' ~-% '
../..~, O -0 00 0
o o Cbt
•O O I
••o
I O
.... .,~
o o • •• ,. •
~.-i~P.
o.,
•
N O O 0,4 I O
::; P- ~ ~ -----:.;;-cio,o 8 oo0 o o o o q ,o o o o oo o o •
,,
I
• 7 ':',' ,,,. O - O o- O O Oe
o• o o• •o
8 • o oO O O
O O I
t
I O O
• 0 0•0
o o
I• o o••••o . 00 .,0 ~000 00 0
• ~' '.YI.I. /'
!U!CTROHIC
Iooo g
0 0 00
••.oo•• oe
oe0O00
o • • o
0 0
0
O
o O o·o~l•.LJ~•~
O O
:,_.s;~==-:
~Oeplclion
0
'~:.; / . . ;\ l•l PHOTOMUI.TIPLl!R T\JIE o o o o o O O • 0 • • o O
I
• o o o o oo • • • o • • o o Leyer
,)
I 1t .,\ •
: ·: ',' ,: \"
,)1 ' q '
(111.0CI( ONl.V) COUHllHO
fflTfM
0 O • 0
• o 0 o o 0 0• 0
o o 0
° •• • • • • O 00
o h,nc:tion (b) (Region)
,·• .1, • ~o o o o L;•::..-..!o~~-;:;;-- .,_.
j
,).! ,J,!,. I
0 0 0 0 • Elec:lrOn llyefce)
f oHoi. (1) , (lnltrr. ' ~form
---.-._,_,., 11un r,ccuuoonn
etlon.
,.:__ .,.TOR PHOTO-CATHCC Just qefore .J~pletlon region.
:_ _ _ _ ___,..--;-::-:-;;;;;::;;;;-;ce58 -;~(e) sho'W' the 1ypas ·on of the"" • n (it ainount~
the forrnl!lt•
nd two
tSUBUNIT
r---------------- ---••
2 SUI UNT
-----,
r--------••••----3SUB UNIT
FIGURE 7 .8. Fo~tlon :;tt~r~Jorlty canters II rossing into the P-ref:Crc is a sma~l
holes. Th1.'I
I RADIATION
r---------•------ -----
:----------~---- -----'
I @ ·

-+PHOSPHoR-+ ~IPHOlOC,\THOO ! _ . PHOTO!l!C~

I
I
I
I
: @ l I
I
I

Case (b) shows the rest

.
tons many holes crossmg the JU 'd or the junction la~

h electrons from c 'gr at ion stops,

gb t hold baclc t e N ion), the rni
potential' becomes errec_uve eno~ nct~n layer ioto ~he -r~~hcrc there ~re no :ntact potenual I~
that even ,r the c
tectrons or . . y :s
thickness of material on the two s1 CA.15 bout 10-6 m thick so
----------------------4
PULS! SIGNALS . _ DYNODES 1 h. h.
·---------------------
I ELECTRONIC CCX..,T!R
nd 8 . d oce hole5
forbidden region (orno man's ta \ a o·7 volt_ lrf Vim is reallyvel)' '
FIGURE 7. 7. Aschematic sketch of a scintillator cotmter with the three sub-unltJ m11ri<ed E--""~ p a,on(an Iic
1,2,3. The tadmlcal steps fnWMld at each sub-unit ara eJ9o shown alongskf_e. _
O· 7 volt the barrier electric field d •10 6 m . ver into the -rec:r
' • Id back frorn crossing o ' e
r//·1 .
Remarks : 1. EJectroruc systems have also been developed in which energy of the incident radiation .
No wonder that the electrons are he
. ) the width of the P
de letion layer, revers
is measured. It is called a sdnWlatlon spectrometer. into the N-region • h hil "forward biasing" decreases (
.I
. . It is also found t at w e . ( ation) o
Z. Csl (Tl) in crystalline form Jw pr<M:d to be an acelltnl ph<>lphor for tbc detection of protons . :H,., raJh 1ncrtases it. • be the generation ere d tors
anda-partic/a. A small amount oftJwlium is added asin Nal or KJphosphors. • b,as,,'6 er . . . n in the Ioniution C~ . r, adiations.Semi- con uc.
the gas 1onaza0O .~ • 0 0 (tonWllg r as operauon·
7.6. SEMI-CONDUCTOR DETECTORS Now, an~Iog~~ I !so be used tor the dct~io . st e nuclear detector w
'/.·1ii ""!IT -
Materials have been classified, on the basis of thclr electrical conduction, as condu~9.rs (metals),
Cree charge earners tn solids can a .
. h 8 ,ua e Conn solid-state detection deVtCCS.
• The first sohd at
.
.
d t ctor. Let U$ de$crabe thcrn.
j insulators (non-conductors), and semi-conductors. While the conductivity of conductors i s ~ . that ~- b pJgVan Hcerdcn (1945). •
of in~ulators is almost zero. Semi-conductors fall inbetween the two classes-their conductivity 1s neither a iv.: Y • . 1
d tector, and (b) junctton-type c c
l as high as for conductors nor as low as for insulators. The fourth group elemtnJs ofthe puiodic cha,t viz. Tb~e arc of two types: (a) crysta c . ·t faces are
11/ silir:011 (Si,· Z = U) and germanium (Ge,· Z • 32) havegota lN!ryspecialplace in physics, These arc the (a) ACrystal Delr.ctor: . ductor (Si or Ge) whose opposi ~) and an 20
most useful semi-conductors. Intrinsic semioonductors have zero conductivity while at 0 kelvin ; even at . t fa thin wafer of an intrinsic (pure) se~aco~ ined to a d.c. voltage (l ·-
the room temperature its value .is Mgligibly small As such, these materials in chemically pure form art .~l consis 0 These two conducting surface are t en JO . .
I. 1
• goJd-~oil covcre • . 'th the entry of an io11izmg par~ide
1 pmcticallyo/no use. A controlled amount ofsuitable dopant (of5th or 3rd group of the periodic chart) is
mixed wirh the pure semiconductor. Theatrinsic semiconductor so obtained 1w its cJec:trical conductivity amplifier. . d ct has 8 very low conducuon, but wt 1i d field the charge earners,
Though pure semi-con u or. Under the influence of the a~p et blish;d :
1
greatly enhanced. The energy gap between the filled 'valence band' and tho ompty 'COllduction band' before 15
adding the impurity (dopant) is= 0·78 eV for Ge and 1.21 eV for Si. As there arc no electrona available the crystal becomes bette~ ~n~u:•~~irections and a sudden current es~ f a detector gives
~l1
,
,.1

.
at 0 kelvin for conduction, they almost act as cJectricaJ insulators. Minor contributioa for conduction may
come from a few broken covalent bonds.After doping, the 'effective' gap betwcca the donor energy few.I.
elcarons and holes, move m suit.a c
This current pulsc1 sU1tably 1

lilied
I
and then counted. But this type 1 peratures.
amr I peration is thus restricted to only lo~er em
O

0
•
and the conduction band (partially filled now) in ·the case of N-typc material, or bctweeu the acceptor C®Siderable "nohe". backgro\Jnd • Its use u •,
[ / J
/
energy level and the valence band in the case of P-type material, is con.r/derably rtduced. le is 0·0S oV and
0 •OR c V for the N-type Si and P-typc Si respectively. Conduction is, therefore, mud, usier now.
(b) AJunction-Type J)etectpr: •
•
ed Th electron-hole pai~s created br ~
nk properties or ap!!•junction ~re u~ • e muclt lower in number than tht
th
fl:I If an N-typc semiconductor (using P or As or Sb u doput) is intimately joined to a P-typo Herc, tho we.· n~: or a photon, through a ~e~1-con ucto~ ar)·atrea<ly present there. As such,
. ' semiconductor (using AJ or In or Ga as dopant), we get I PN function (or pa-junction). In prac;tice, borli passage or •.~a~P! P~ -iegion) and holes (rnajonty 10 the p-regton . • , ••
·/ N and P type character~ arc developed on •.single Ge (or Si) ~al On forma~ of the PN junction, the clcc:t~ns (maJo~ty .1;~tr:diation is quite hard. .
) majority carriers (holes ,a the P-typc material and electrons ID the N-Cype material) tend to move ac/WJ detection of the UlCI ( Fig. 7 9) . . . particle wa,
8
If
rlu: junction interface asshown JD • FiJS· 7.8 bclow. R sec 1 (atthc
nntagc d_rop acrossd,(requcncy
1. It shoWS 1>P au _....,
• •
amplifier
•
output) cven when no 1onrzm
'i •With rbe movement of the ~ajori~ carri~s acr<m the junction ~)'Cr, 1 sm~ potential ~fJcrencc 2, TberC are pubCS of randOm size an . ·a
-i builds up, wir!i 1hc face on the N side bemg pos,tM and that on the P SJde, nc:gatwe. When this 'COtllael "recci't'cd" by the c,ystal. •
\-
I
.~
~#\ A
'oo o • • •
:,
• 00 •
o_ ~f I I
f!"j),, Pmd«s,~ NUCLEAR PHYSICS
.
l
Radiadoa Dn,~tor, 213
r------- -------- -------- -,
1v, if such apn-junc-
reverse-biased, then the ENTRY OF AN Detection Chane- , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
lcplction layer widens to nbout IONIZING PARTICLE -------=------,------,~ + • terl1Uc1 of S.B.D.a :
1 mm. Further enlargement is
possible by proper doping. The performance or R Output
This depletion region behaves Surface Barrier Detectors Pulse
It
shows the following traits.
I
a5 an lonlzatlon chamber R
when (external) radiation ls (a) Unearfty. ll has R.B. 'T
T
passed through It. The new been experimentally found that
)
the S.B.D. response to various PN-tnterfloe
electrons and holes now - - ~ 1--t i---. ,. ionizing particles wilb dirrerent (Depletion Region
Thin Al layer
produced· move to the op- OOlOLAYERS
positely charged faces of the (TOP, BOTTOM) energies is linear. Heavy par-
crystal, thereby producing an ticles arc an exception for ,.___ _ _ 1-lGURE 7.11. ASurface Banler Detector. _ _ ___.
easily measurable voltage ____ ----. which certain tkvlallons ari&e.
pulse. (Sec Fig. 7.10 for detail) FIGURE 7 .9. Working skvtch of a Crystal Detector - - - (b) High Convenlon Efficiency. Because much less energy ia required to produce an ion-pair in a
semi-conductor detector than in a gas-£illed detector(~ 2·8 eV for Ge and - 3·5 eV for Si while it is
Advantnges : Scmi-con-1
ductor detectors arc especially , Incident about 3S eV for a gas-filled counter), their conversion efficiency is pretty high. As many as ten times more
well-adapted to energy measure- _\__Radiation ion- pairs arc produced for a given energy of the incidtnt, ionizing particle.
ments. It is because (c) Hlgh Energy ResoluUon. lt means a nan-ow distribution of pulse ,ize around the mean. It is. also
(i) their response is linear, p
N
called the Full Width at Half Maxima (FWHM). Smaller value of FWHM means better raolution (or
and Region Region differentiation betwten differtnt particle types). Protom and dcutrons·have lower FWHM than for a-par-
ticles. Lower resolution (or broadening of peak of the output pulse) for a-particlu was traced/attributed
(ii) their energy resolution to the numerous nuclear collisio0$. FWHM for a-particles of several McV was found to be - 10 kcV.
(differentiating trait) is excellent
Only2.8 eVis required to produce
nn electron-hole pair1 in ger-
manium and 3.5 eVin silicon. This
Depletion Region
(::1 mm)
R Pulse
(Output)
Also, cooling (of the deteaor) ia found to increase its resolution.
~.B. : If Vpeu measure.\ the maximum pulse height in volt, then t~en~ x 1001 measures %
is about (JJJO)th of the energy - - - - - - - 1 - r-1 I 1 .. resolution.
needed to produce an electron-hole Rt\terse Biased (cl) Minimum Response Time. Because of raster carrier mobilities (for electron& and holes), the
W~irking of PN Junction Detector _ ___, ion pairs traverse only shorter di~anccs before they arc collected at the electrodes. The pulse widths arc
pair in a gas-filled counter or even ~ - - FIGURE- 7.10: . · ~ 10-9 sonly.
a scinti/lation counter. It simply
implies that an a-particle of about 5 McV energy will produce l ·7 x la6 electron hole pairs. (e) Small Sized, Rup Devices, As a matter of fact, solid-state-devices are not only small in size
Dls~dvn_l)tages : Because of a thin depletion region (nt best a few mm only) these devices cannot but arc also rugged (unlike old-fMhioned tubes). This makes these devices very handy.
be useful in spcctrometres for very erleflldic particles. Also, semi-conductor deteaors arc leas sensitive to (/) DlffereaUal Seaaltlvlty. The S.B.D.s are scrwtivc to light (visible spectrum) but insensitive lo
)'•radiation than say, scintillation cowilers. photons add neutrons. They can detect charged particles even in the prC$Cnce of other radiations.
Variants of PN-Junctlon Detectors
Variant (ii) Uthlum-Ion Drifted Junction Detector:
Two or three variants of the PN-junctiof! detector are also in use. We discuss these in brief.
Variant (I) A Surface Barrier Detector {S.B.D,) : ; TM operalion of an S.B.D. gives better resolution only at lowered temperaturts (even below °C). To
Usually more frequently used modem version of a semi-conductor detector, a surface barrier reduce tllil di/ficully, E.M. Pell inlroductd a lilhium-ion drifted junction dettctor. In this technique, lithium
detector is fabricated in two ways: A face/surface of an N-type Si or Ge crystal is exposed to air. Thi5 which acts as an clearon donor is di[fuscd into the P-type Si or Ge at much above-room temperatures
surface gets oxidised and this layer acts as a very thin P type layer. The detector thus becomes just like a (around 120°C to 150°C) under R.B. conditions. Under these condition!, the ions drift considerably into
PN junction. Or, a very thin P-type layer is developed on an N-type wafer of Si or Ge. The interface of the the crystal where the U donor exactly compensates the existing impurity in the P•region. And thus an
two types thu~ becomes the PN-junction. For making good electrical contacts, a thin gold-fil~ i.~ effective inlrinsic (pure) semi-conductor layer is produced between the N- and P-regions. Layer thick-
evaporated on the upper (P-typc) surface and a thin aluminium-film cont•d on the lower (N-type) surface. nesses, uaing modern techniques, have been increased considerably to over 1 cm. The detector hu thus
A suitable reverse bias (R.B.) is then used with resistor R to get the output pulse, as shown in Pig. Ul. become very useful for studying y-ray spectra for energies upto 2•5 MeV.
The working of such a device is s11bject to controlling the device tt'.mperature for keeping the output N.R.: U-drilted germanium detectors are more useful than silicon detectors for y-dett:ction. This
, signal noise background to the minimum and enhancing its life spa11. is because Ge is more efficienl than Si ; the absorption cross-section for y-rays is proportional to zs. lts
l. 'Ibis is not 10 be confused with the electron-positron pair production for which a minimum of 1.02 McV va~ue is higher in favour·o( Ge with Z =- 32 than Si with Z = 14 only. [see eqn. (6.30) for reference\
photon ls required along with a "witnes.," nucleus. 1 ..,.,...,.
if.t>
'\•
f\J'N\ r
 ...\';.:;.
r ...-, 0 , . - t ...
%. -e
·:O

".
t
J; 1_ ;,_\\
"""S.-
.. 0
0.,. ' - !Cs -;
C)oe$l.
;.'
I
21~
Prad~ NUCLEAR PHYSICS
........~ • - - .. i -i~
--.....:., -.....\ -:,~~
-........._ i~"" •
\I a::,. tt
C:
: Variant (ill) Hlgh-Purlty-Gennanlum Detector: 00000 "'!\• ••~• "i
~l :i \V O O O O O .,:. '
It 1s ycl another option of creating the depletion region hy directly
evaporating a litbinm layer 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 _.,. ' ~'?,·•:A t .<
1111c ,ur lnr.c of a (high grade) P-typc Ge block. Uthium diffuses a bit <> <> <> <> ••• .. ~-;"- ;
into Ge. And a suitable R.B.
PN-junction crcalcs depletion region. The thic~ncu or this layer/region is controlled to the <> ,.,, ·< -~ -~ i '
by the externally - 0 0 0 0 0 _,
.,pphcd vol1ap.c (field) as well u the degree or impurity concentration of the original
sample (Ge). -.;;~ <,:;
0 0 0 0 0 0
• 7.7: CERENKOV DETECTORS --:-:::::-:-='.":"'.'.'.~------ \"'"' "
II ha$ been commonly recogni7..cd that the highest velocity that can l>c obtained in nature is that of
\t\
Q I

hr,hl (Hn cm-wave) travelling in vacuum. Ordinary

ii speed of, say, a few kilometers per second. But particles
matter (in macroscopic form) can nevi:r travel beyond
of high energy (microscopic form of matter)
may travel almost al the speed of light (tt :s c) if their K.E. ?! their rest-mm
rc/1111vastic particles retain their velocity almost equal ( :s c) to that of light in
energy("' m0.c1). Such
vacuum even when they

- - ·- - •
i,w& SP~E ~-)
I - · ---- -~- ·
I ,_-. _-. ·-~
~p,'REH 'T OIEL.EC'TRIC MEDIUM
F
I
a i pcnctrHlc mailer hut only till they have not lost sufficient energy. Once they
do so, they become
lf(J>l •rcl/llivrst,c.
..!•ation ~Ill be visible
i1 1 Bui this is not precisely so in the case oflight : Light slows down immediate
(of refrnctivc i11da µ > I). If c be the velocity of a light signal in vacuum, itsred11ctd
medium of index of refraction 11 will be clµ only.
ly upon e111eringa ma/trial
value in a transparent

_ .
FIGURE 7.12. CerllU(O',I radlal!OO e&n be -
emitted by tha •c11stoftad" atocns,
FIGURE 1.1s. Cerenkoll raoou•·
when au wave-trains 1m\tted 11re In Pllll-""'•
-trains from various atoms (or molecules) interfere
~i! It may hap~n, tlrerefore, that a relalivislic
11 / a lier than visible lig/1t signal. In such a situation,
cluugtd particle travelling in a transparent dielectric medium
a sort of electromagnetic ''!,ow" wave is emitted by the
Lig!'l will only be observed. when all the,:':.n cle 'track length' should be more
co11st,ucllvcly (set Fig, 7.13]. Por t~tS to hap~, 'y- •• _,,:.,_ ( / µ) must not
vary.
than the wavelength
11ar11c/c 111 tl1t f o"" of visible light. This (light-emitting) discovery (l.) of C,renkoV light, Olld the panide wtoc1ty uuldel the
t 1:
J,
the Cerenkov effect. It is used for dttecting charged particles, and such devices
by P.A. Cerenkov (1934) has been called
Oeti,ctors. The 'bow' or 'cone of light' is almost like a ship producing a 'bow-wave
are called Cerenkov
.
rcfra~ :1:V~:::g ~m:: : ; r : ! vanations: Act~Y µ > l
because withC a gas as medium,
'711W''"'" • we can controI the
for all ~aterials, not o~ly
' in water if its speed is tr t solids gasea
!i !\realer than the speed of water-waves.
·
bo\ even may serve as detecting media USJng the Cerenkov effect. The refractive
dt ds iu pressure. That lmplits dttecton with variable thresholds may be construct
Cerenkov radiation can be collected and made to fall onto a photomultiplier tube first as we ed bJ
1hc ca~c of scintillation light. It is finally received as a pulse onto the electronic
do in ~onU: ,I~ in them. µ exceeds unity more and more with increasing gas
II counter/recorder [See Fig. pressure. and ~t
1-1\ comes d06Cf to it if this pressure is towered. For lowerµ value, the velocity threshold
7 for the partJcles is
If the particle velocity in the medium is less than clµ, no Cerenkov effect and hence higher.
radiation
emission will take place. Cut11kov emission thus has a threshold for a particle in tenns Cerenkov detector,
111.1_, of its velocity. have b_ccn found to be a gJ~t CERENKOV PHOTOMULTI· 1-------4 COUNTER
·•I .. •
This effect can be used to differentiate highly energetic particles from a backgrow1
d of slower and
help 1D hlah-eneraY physics oeT1!ctOR PLIER TUBI! (RECORDER)
"'" energetic particles that might "confuse" (or dodge) other kinds of detectors. The
pcrtinent point hore and coamlc ny studies.
l " that lhc Cermkov radiation is emitted in a nal70w cone, .rymmelric about tlte direction
of travel of the 1n fact an interesting H,!-.
i\- churgctl particle. [Sec Fig. 7.15). Therefore, the principles of optics can be used to
an amhient (diffused, mild) backgroun d that is travelling in possibly every
choose this light from
direction.
application of this effect (in
gaa)hubeenmadeind,c,cdng FiGURE 7 .14. Scheme of detecting Charged Pa.rticles through
The direction of approach of a chatged particle can thus be def111ed by using Cerenkov Ccarenkov~eet II!_ a Cer1nkov Detector.
For this reason, detectors. the ligbt produced by primaty
they are employed as of a trigger .!)'stem for
\,: part& other track chambers. co.tmic says as they penetrate
tho earth', atmorpbc --
rc. Such a ligbt can effectively be detected on a moonless night under darkness.
N.R.: P.A. Cerenkov, Frank, J.M. and Tamm, 1.Y. were awarded the 1958 Nobel
Prae in Physics Photomultipliers arc mounted in large search light reflectors in place of the
It·I for the development of such detection effects, and relevant theory for
the same.
Actually, the charged particle, that moves inside the given dielectric with a certain
reflectors are pointed toward the sky (cosmos). By suitably focusing a largecustomary carbon ore. These
number of such reflectors,
constant velocity spaced properly apart, onto a small region of the sky, undesirab le \ight signals
(v), is associated with an (from other sources) can
electrorna gaeUc wave (pulse) that agitates the atoma or the medium. It is true be eliminaltd . They can now detect any 'cosmic
ti\ only fnr those atoms that lie very clo.,e to (along) ray showers' produced in the targeted region of the sky.
the path of the charged particle (soc Fig. 7.12). The The durallon as well as magnitude of the 'light flashes'
affected individual atoms (molecules) get 'distorted' temporarily; later they become ob.served are used to estimate the size of a shower. The
'normal', But, in timing of a,rival of lht c,,enkov wave (light) front al the various detectors, gives
hetwccn, an cm-pulse (visible radiation) is emitted by these atoms. In other the direction al wl1ich a
words, we may say that, as the
I ra~,. charged particle moves through, the nearby atoms (molecule s) become polariud because of the
pardcular JhOWdr approaches the eanh,
Mathematical Analysis. The 'cone oflight waves emitted' constitutes Cerenkov
ti'
~\'

Coulomb field of the charged particle. In turn, these polarized atoms (molecule
like a damped oscill~ng dipole.
s) start giving radiations electrons reach speeds of clµ at much lower energies than heavy prticlcs,
radiation is much more important for clectrol\l;.But energy loss by this mode of
energy
radiation. Because
\oss by Cerenkov
radiation is only a minor
,(v
'\•
(\('rv\ r
 ~ :- -- -- -
ctln" ';'°m~n rcd to that by
•Jd"1rn1 1on or bremss trah/u, rtJ'
A b;qdt U,'! NUCL EAR PHYS ICS
•hown in Fig. 7.15., the envelo pe ~ R1nHe1don D•••ct or•
rho rndiat ion is a cone of hnlf. 0 -~ Jl7
angle 8 with the charge d partic le •
at its apex. Hence: (in t.ADO )
OHA,.oeo,.Aa'T'--, _,.~• ~• 4111 7.1.e'- ( \ )
MlltTICI.I! MOVINO • ltci (v1 - v,) \ 1 - ,
WllH Vt!LOCITY
cos a"" sinO
• - J.:::...C..L
f Cl"\ :.. t - ::-a
1 ·1C;;<~~t--tt-+H+f-+--1--~
,t t!OIVM ·t 4111 7JA1 (c
tJ t µp
INlHl!M I • h? · \Xi - r.C) . ( 1 - 7Jjf)
1
for dv .. v 1
...(7,11)
I
:
<l 1 8Pt!t!O OF LIOHT J·
\

- v 1 in terms or A
1 INMl!O IIJM•o, µ 4x1,7J .r2 (1 \ ) dA
. 1'f for At ,. A1,½, and dA • .t, - A'1
\'
where /3 -= vie. • he \ - µf"jJf,
: : <¼>•
I
Durin g the time the. I 1
41t .Z2 .t'
charg ed partic lcd covers a dis- , v.1 • -hc-.x r-. cos2 6...,,.,
·" .
' using eqn. (7.11).
tance AO = vJ, the light from it ~--- -FtG • .. ('I.LIi)
URE 7 .l5. Cerenkov radiation con e--- tJW. dN
can travel the distan ce AB • (clµ)J . Notice --..J And
that AO > AB, as expect ed (why? ). clL • hv.dL
The angle Oof the cone of Ceren kov radiat 4n'1.'ZJ.e1 (
ion depen ds upon the speed of the particl e : 1 )
0 • sin- 1
(µ\) .It can be used to ~tum Inc v. It is the fundamental
Ceren kov relation. Ir8 iumal l,
- ).->
= 4x2,'Z},.e1

1 -· .,..-m:
µ-.p- .d.\
--~e ...
{ ·: vie "' VA\
a is large. It will happe n for faster charge
d particl e moving inside the given medium. ).l . ~ ""'
...(7.15)
Conclu sions ••from the eqn. (7.11), sin 9 =
µ (:le) = µ1/J' are readily summ ed up. . This eqn. expru.sts tJu t!ltergy distribution
on a wavelength scale. The value of refractive
1. As discussed earlier also, the velocity thresh obVtously an averaged value for the given frequen indexµ ill
cy or wavelength runge.
,the refractive index of the gas. Below this thresho old of the charge d particl e is inversely propor tional
ld, no Cerenk ov e/fecJ can occur. Now, since dW/d L « ..!.., cqn. (7.15) at once
2. The "semi angle" reveals that the emitted Cerenkov radiation i.,
8 of.the Ceren kov cone with the charge d particl e at the apex is independeHt J.3
re mass of the charge d (movin g) particl of concentrated in the violet ngion o( the visible em
e. This is not the case with brems.,trahlung. 1 spectrum (A...).
3. 8 depen ds on the wavelength (frequency) . [N:B.: The oriE!nal results (7.14) or (7.15) were
of tho Ceren kov radiati on. expressed in this form only. Only later, after the
mtroduct1on of S.l. UD1ts, they were expressed
4. The mini ~~ value of 6 is given by 6m1c1 =
sin- 1 (¾) f~r /3 = vic -= 1 (maximum). dW 1
in convt!Ttt!d modem form :
4x .Z .e2 (2 2
Faster the particl 1 )
e, narrowerthe light cone within which t>,e Cerenk dL "" 4x toe,· .P • • 1 - µ2 pi .d.t
Spect ral Distri bution of Ceren~ov Radia tion
ov radiati on .sp~ads, and vice-versa. .,.(7-16) 11
: E.qn. (7.14) for energy distribulion in terms of
In 1937, I.M. Frank and I. Y. Tamm extend ed 't photons (quanta) emitted shows that a relativistic
earlier . By using classic al theory they showe the unders tandin g of what Ceren kov had observed particle or unit charge (Z • 1)
d that the energy radiate d per unit path let1gth passing throug h 10 cm of, say, glass should give rise to about 2500 photons
(charg e Z.c) is given by oC the particle (i.e. dNIdL ~ 250 photon s/cm), 1£all of these
phptons are collected and focused onto the photo-
of a photomultiplier tube, a £cw hundre d e!ectro cathode
ns are produc
J w.dw ed and reason
1 1 able pulse size obtained.
tJW
dL = z .e
_.T 1 ).
( 1- ;2.pi 771e ligh_t output of a Qrenk ov counte r is quite lower as compared to thal of a scinti/lalion counte
...(7.12) the same to«al energy loss but it has cutairi r for
advantage& too. Some typical advantages
;,/J>I detecto r/coun ter of a Cerenkov
arc :
The condit ion with the integral, viz.µ .{J > 1, just 1. No emission of light b4low the particle velocit
reminds us about the velocit y thresh old (u > } ) y threshold is ever possible.
for the charg ed partic le. Using the individual '2. The rise and decay of the pulse is rapid.
photon energy ashv and 2nv, we can write
in terms of the numb er of quant a dN per a, .. eqn. (7.11.) 3, The duration of ~\ .b
v + dv) as unit path length betwe en OJ and a,+ dw (and the light flash within the 'Ceren kov cone'
hence v and is very short (- 100 pico-second) •.
4. There Is a sense of directionality associated with
2 such radiation, the angle 6 depending on particl
dN 1 'ZJ.e ( e ·\\ w
dL = hfi • 7"" • 1 - µ 21./f1) w.dw (v -= mean frequency velocity. (See eqn. (7.11)}.
l
=v)
::, (2 n)l
h
'Z} ,el
·"""c"
(1 - _1_ )
µ2.fP
.dv
... (7.13)

5. The light intensity is a (unction of the particl

Charactcrlstlcs oC Cerenkov counters :
e velocity.
Some of the inherent traits of such counte n as
an important class can be listed.
( ·: w da, = 2nv.2, rdv] (a) They are essentially directional cowitd t:'"
~.
,~
'\'•
~r
 .,_ . ..- ......
·~
~~,,~;,,.~y<,. .....
' ~.,,~
}!!'di•••• D""'•" "!:,:~ ~%.'\.
fnultd) NUCLl!AR PHYSICS·, - - - - - - - - - - r-....;;;;;;;;::::--:J'¼
, - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -"11 ?;,.'· <
'- _/
-==--============-,;<--=====~ / --.....i:
==,/=-===~;;;=11...,;::=~
-:-'::I Tube 1 ' •\ ,,.,
,r
Photo mu~li:Ai.
{b) Bccau.\C of the velocitythrea~old (v > ~) ,,low particlcuro obYioualy rejected. Thus they have
t w,lnc1ty ulcc1w11. M3
(c:) Emitted energy and momentum of the incoming detcccablo putide arc interlinked : while
!
massive particle& emit higher energies, lighter ones Olke, aay, electrons) emit lowcr encrgiea (O· SMcV or
more). The particle lclnds can thus be suitably dllfmnliatcd through the uae of aclcctlon mechanism,.
(ti) They possess an ability to provide ch018f 11l,c:don as well, provided the ~h~rged d*ctablc
p11r1icle.\ have enough C'nrrry /
Redlllor
PhOIO ,nultlpller
Cerenkov counters In practical usage : Lena
Tube 2
In practical counters, the propertiC$ of thruhold velocity und di~ctionality have been extemivcly (AdJU111bl1)
uscd/CXJlloited. Liquid and solid dielectric counters of large volume mny be used as threahold dctectora
·1 (non-focu1i1,g l}Pf), Special 1ddi1ional focusing optical systems can be employed gjviog another c1aa& of f Caren-l<oV Detector.
1hreshold detectors that arc offoc11sing type. L - - - - - - - FIGURE 1.16. Menihall's version o II • •
. beam of particles is involved.
In 19SJ, Cerenkov radiation from a collimated beam of 340 McV protons passing through an -~-··/
2 Cerenkov radiation is• blul1b alow when an intense f hock wavu The velocity of the
'optically' /1fll sheet offlint glau of 0.67 mm thickna1 MW sullably fl/med In a 35 mm camera. From thl s' • ,_ oduces a sjmiler cone o s •
(v -4 • 1200 km/h i Vp1a11e >
1200 km/h J
•
melll&lml value ofa, the velocity ofthese prot0111 was found to be0.68c. Atao. the relativistic kinetic energy l. 3. A 1upenonlc piano in fli~ht a~o pr
of a particle is given by the difference plane is more than the sound vclOCJty. . '°" X- diation (c.m. radiation of
mo 4. Cerenkov counters have also been ~se~ to. det~t Jijgh~~~:~nd ~e.1e ion showers qualifying
E • m .c2 - m0 .c2 a .c2 - mo.c2 th 111
•
wevclength - 0• 1 A). Actually, X-rays cause_ io~rzationd~ ~ then malccs it p0$sible to evaluate the
./1-v2/c2 the velocity threshold produce Cerenkov rad1at1on. lls etec ion, •
=mo-e2[ 1 -1]. ...(7.17) energy or X-radiation responsible.
./1 -/P 7.8. NUCLEAR EMULSIONS . • G • b ck to
1
When this relation is used for the above case of protons, with proton rest mass mo aod -.::::Jr" -.,. • tides is a nuclear emulsion. 01ng a
Yet llnothcr useful device for detcctmg e1ementary par • 1 t were ut to use for
=
fl {3 =vie., 0·68, a value of E 341 MeV is obtained I This/ad mnarlcablyconfimu th, Cue11lcov effect
tlil'nry th11s drwloped.
Just like the W!locily thruhold, the energy thruhold ofthe incident charged radiation can also be/OUlld.

the days ofH. Becquerel (end or the 19th century), we recall that photographic Pa cs
the first time, for detecting radioactivity.
P
. ,.
•
The ch~d particle& actually interact with the photosensitive silver salts of the film. Their images
,
'iI
From cqns. (7,11) are thua captured in the film. •
. • 1 Because of their ~ , sensitivity with nuclear radiation, the track.1 of th~ par~cs att: not ";' good ;.
111 (cosa)m11. = (sin 9)•••"" 1 so thatp_. • µ• ...(7.18) quality. A& such, ~tcr materials and options were sought. We ncc:dcd to deal with vanous particles hke, say
s,'I..
(with O more, a is lc.~s and vice-versa in relation to Fig. 7.15). cosmic rays, He4 , H 1 , _ 1e0 etc. Thus 'o,tical emulsions' were replaced by 'nuclearemulrions'. Because
1 1
ofhigher contents and.miallergrainsizc ofthe silver salt aystals (may be much less than a micron), the 'nud_ear
i-: Eqn. (7.17), rhercforc, fixes up tho minimum energy limit at
emulsions' are much better option. Also, the overall emulsion thickn~ is much more than in the optical
1]
I
2 1 emulsions. A variety ofsuch emulsions have been developed for detecting particles that have different 'specific
·I' E,.,oshold "" m0.c [ - = mo.c2 [ 2µ _ - 1]. ...(7.19)
•• ,J 1 - {P,,... ,Jµ - 1 ioni7.ation' powcz-. Neutral particles can also be detected through the ionization associated with them.
:,
!i Another Cerenkov detector was fabricated meticulously by J. MarshaU in 19S2, giving good rcaulta. Thus we have D-1 emulsion suitable for detecting a-particles and nuclear fission fragments etc.
I
A working sketch of the same has been shown here in Pig. 7.16. Cerenkov light from high energyn-mcsons Another nuclear emulsion suited for protons and heavy nuclei is known by the name C-2 llford emulsion.
ti (pions) as they enter the given dielectric medium was suitably and effectively focused onto the Likewise, G-S Ilford-emul1ion is commonly med for high energy electrons. For neutron detection, B-10 is
photocathode of two photomultiplier tubes. These tubes were placed symmetrically w.r.t. the direction of added to emulsion thereby makiog it scositivc.
incident pions. A shup, collimated beam of n-mcsons wu allowed to pw along tho uis of a large Because of higher silver salt Content in a nuclear emulsion, special techniques arc used for
II. .,1 '
hemi-sphcrical perspex lens (L).
The Cerenkov radiation (marked C.R.) after successive rcllections at mirron M1 , M2 (cylinderi-
'developing'. A widely used technique is as under. First or all, a developer is chosen such that its 'chemical
eflec:ta' are reduced at low temperature rather than its 'diffusivity'. The developer is allowed to diffuse
:ii cal) and M M. {plane) is focused onto the photocathodcs P P Por better focusing. the position bf the through tho (nuclear) emulsion at a lowered temperature (say, 5°C). Thereafter, the supporting glau plate
:p £or the emulsion is taken out of the path of the radiation to be detected and then allowed to be heated to
•
,
11 2
3
radiator lens could be adjusted. TIie two phototuba gave a ma.umum~ COUllling l'l1te. Marshall
had used 145 MeV piom and got 13% energy resolution (i.t. partidc-to-putide energy diffcrcotiation). aboutt 25-c. The shnnkage of the AgBr salt,'tha~ may cause serious problem for counting accuracy, can
111 be controlled by employing 'glycerine-dip' for the developed film (emulsion}. The 'tracks' become
.,
Remarks : L We may use glau, traMparent plastic etc. for obscmng this radiation.
f-4 I prominent enough to be visualized and analyse?. This can be done with the help of very high resolution
---....... ..------- -------- -------- -1
,t,b
I
.. \.,,._., ,. •• j
I ,.•;
('/V"\J I
·---=::,:·-====::---
 ll~
.
~/-----
' ,rtferoscopcli. For instnucc, n 10 M11V
CAn be mngnificd n11d photographed. pn,1011
·----- ~.i NUCLEAR PHYSICS
lc11vc~ u trnd (line) only nbout 0·6 mm long I These tr:icks
/l.ndlatlo11 Dcteclor,
UI
------ ------ ------ ------ -- ··-----...,
f'mctic"IIY .vpeak/11g, n 1111dcc11 c1111c/.1icJ11 u a dc:11se 111cdi11111 ((I/Jo11r 4 g/cmi), yet ufter dcvclopi11g,
3 C!YCn short llvtd f)ftrtlclca can be sloppc,J whhln tho cmul1111111h1lk11c.,, IJo(mc tltcy dccny
/1 is transpcm.•111. F11rthtmton: its stopp/11g power i.f mttclt hil(lter tltn11 tl1m ofnormal n/r (about 2000 tlme.r).
4. The lll:.cov,ry of ,r. end K-mcions wn:i rc114.11tcu wiah Mich 0111ul3,011, only.
'
Tl,us, high Clll!l1{Y P"rtit:lcs w1//1 n111,:e.r of many meters in air ca11 be stopped wit/1/n a f,w millim1t,1'1 in 5. The quality of particle-I rack~~ so 1t11o<l lhnt lhc,o lrnck., arr vh,h/,.
1111:m. ;,(
6. Tr11clcs or dlff,rtnltypca of ionr,Jng particle~ (inciclcnl 011 ~uch c111u1A1011,) a1 c 111111/c,1llv1/llf1mm1.
I hence Ihere is no ~cope for confo~ion regording tho 11awre or 1h0 pnrticloA "rc.\ponArblo•.
Under favourable conditions, ii is possihle to dctcm11inc the charge, mass, nnd incident kinetic
energy ol' a charged particle brought In reM (i.r.. slopped, thereby creating a sm111l track) in the given
emulsion. The range or a pnrticle, the grain rl,msity of the silver halide u~cd and its vrtriaticm alnng tht track
/omaccl arc some or the impo1 tant fac1nrs urgcnlly required for ~uch n determination, Even a knowledge
' •

7. From the observed raogeft of different p1trliclc.1, 11111 only 1ki1 (i111.1dc111) 1.nc•llY l,111 .ilao
scattering crrus-s,ction.r cnn 1,c calculalctl.
!;!: BUBBLE CHAMBER
or the scuttcri11g a11glc, even ir small, due 10 possible col/isio11s or the incident pan iclc with the nuclei in the As we know, 11 cloud chamber," hubble cha111hcr, "~pork rhamhcr, uml 1111donr crnul'1nn~ ull r.,11
emulsion hns been a.clvoc11ted for more .tde111ijic culwl,11ic111.v. As a mailer of fncl, ii II track is well in one category. Thcso nrc all "lrack-chamhcrs·.
illumi11ated an<l magniricd, lhcn on viewing il \lndcr a powerful microscope, one can note that it is not Whilo ·-·
~rlidcs WI! ullcn linu tlrnl 1lrc,r
perfectly straight. R:1ther, it is zig•za~ due lo collision~. 771e 1111mhcr of grains dcpo.,itccl per micron intc_!action~ lnny nu1 cu111D1S\GA)'. PC..0%',S.VJ;~,. .. ·'-·-·..•• • 1 1lc.-fn,11ch cases,
wt "!.A , t ~J.nM1J.... ,Jud:.. r.n•., ....:,,. - ___ :._LJ_
4
( ,o- 011 or w-6 c:m) of track, dN/dl', lwJ been expcn'mental/y fo1111d to be r.loscly rr.lnttul to tltc energy loss
per u11it tmck /cngtlt, dE/tLt, cxprcsscc/ in kcV/micro11. The lwo arc enrpiricnlly connected ns
, :a/JfCl{';;°uT,t,
iafi11rwi1hou1
its dbnu•e111•K··
df'!. = (l ["l - exp (/1.Z.
d.t .
- >lc)l- ... (7.20)
(reliable) in~lrUlu\,;llli\ ..... ,,.,,. ~"'..•1!'17
---~ 11a1 """"' '"'J," -
11111,:rvjiluqblc
--
. • - - · - - · ....
Herc u, /J, c nrc certain (,trbitrary)-con:111tt1~ncl Z is the integer giving the charge(± z e) of the
ionii.ing partidc. Further, if the ma~~ 111 ol the particle (in a.m.11.) and its Z-value arc known, its kinetic
UMI& ahpijw;c~.- it.L\-i~r~;hcpjgQlriilitwiw
rtd
energy E (in McV) may be ohluincd rrom its rungc R (in microns) lhrough the relation _ _Jin~ pr~u~,okc-2, ~iiin5 will \resin Q Gi,a1cv
E :=: k1.(Z)211 .(m) 1··n.Rn. _...('/.21) Now ir the prc&-,U[C b$ cs~La11,1h!c11 ly, h~iwu: bssiM (even ill a 1cn1pcra111rc < llllrC).
--~B.:. ...... _ t--·--A rrL_?::1...1-..1
L ... •'--" .S..:Yisibk'' w@1u
,n ,. .. ; .. L.1 .. ·r1... ... : .... .... , ...............
l"ttl'l\.\ll . . . . . . .
(k I and II are empirical constanti)
Also, the total number of silver sail grains (N) and lhc parlidc rang1.: (R) arc related as
N = k2, (Z)2n'.(111) 1- 11 '.Rn·.
-
...(7.22)
(k2 nnd 11' arc also empirical constants)
lt is to be noted that E ex Rn and N « R"' arc i11dic:uti11g n li11ear hchaviour in both cases.
Remarks. 1. Ar. staled already, bccnusc of their lower s;nsitivity, optlc11I cmullllom1 arc nol suitable
,, 1c modern bubble chamber was built (m 19:59) t,y ProL Al•,arcz in Cnlifu_uli!L1lruYcr.~ily, U.SA.
with nuclm1r radial ion for quuntitatly\' estimations. His rea5oning fur obtaViir.fg t:uer rcsut~was IhM if the chamber was ~11(ti"c1cntfy Tii,j?e ;lndihcpri;~surc or
a.a •• m - -
the -co
2. After little wriatim1, nuclear emulsions arc also used in 'neutron spectroscopy'.
3. AgBr is the salt ur.cd in such lilms.
~as elf
tracks
Li,Jltl Fluh T1
Tub~& (Ti.T2+\\
.R\ """' -"-?
A1T2
()
4. Powell wa5 the pcrwn who had developed in U.K. the very lirst nuclear emulsion using 80% c, .
~..,
G2 l'~
AgBr. • a: iii§'
S. These cun be assorted in parallel layers, one over lhe oth1.:r. These arc then exposed to the
ntdiations to be d1.:tectetl, antl 'developed'.
~--,. w , w " • ;- -~r~prt :.-~--4
o_iil
7' en.:,
a=t@ : 1tas%. A still oa~
N:,
~e~
t0
One can, thus, "observe" nuclear collisons on tracks und analyse for different particles, their bigg~r (80 inch~) ~.le
directions, rnnges el1.:.
I
charlllm Yti!S bMilL WI use, at
Advuntngcs. We can briefly sum up some of the advantages of having nuclear emulsions. the~ N (European Coun-
L Being very se11sitivc, nuclear emulsion can he relied on fully; no event can be missed as s~1ch. c'nror Nuclear Research, at
Gcm:va). Other varianl~ have LIQ:~:-~~~:~~:~:-;-:-:~:::~:~·~:i~~;~:.,,
2. They arc neither bulky nor cosily. been in operation thereafter. Gas Mechanism ....,._.
As such, these arc very handy for any kind or experimentntion, particularly the high-altitude cosmic Fig. 7.17 gives a simplified (CL'Oi~<l)
my studies. They can be taken aloft in balloons for cos mil.'. ray exposures. ' sketch or such a chamber. FIGURE 7.17. i:....se11l1t1I~ nl a Bul,ble CJ1iln1h<!r !Alvarez lvpe).
; •• ·I
------·-·-· ~----· ··-· ···- --···-·-~-·-. -- -----
-· -·-- ----
;f.:r>
"\•
(\fN\J·
 1111111 fi I0
.J. .J.A
_L. , , . ~
,. -L J .,
r"r. /111
' \ . I , 1•
1
f' (y f(1, _ ... ,,.,.,,.,. - i°\....... 'i.,.;'b.,.lt,
• .., '{'t
. "\ " .-,,
-
<., .,, R '- ~
., :'I1 222 \.
I !
'" (f'
.· .... -l PrndHI!'• NUCLEAR PHYSICS R.adloHOJC o,,,cto ' - · • S ,<,,n .....kid 0....... .9 ' \ •:) •1- '\. A ":,
h•· .... ,,,"- '{ ,; _,,nn o,omb«
JMtcto!_'fJll!-
M"'""
n.-t~t•n
0.. • ,....- energy etc.
M•H• I om:.:':'o\/, <,. .L :J
, ;.
,. ,
pre
s. No._l_ o , {J partlclCI Mc111urefMln\ ot enc, \1 •.,,;
pert
t. I Jon1tatlon Oil lclU, _
!u. f I 1i; I .do-
sit I J>rOPOrtl<>OIII eountert u ,/J, yo.ndc<>1mlcrnyt througt, pulse
1n1en1lly doterm\nellt>n~
rcc:orlllng. ··
, .•.,
J,.
I j!l l; int .do·
3, I o.M. counters
~-, X· ,.,., , ..,y, of """ BY "°"'"''""110,,..k< '
' Li
protons, pio~i. ~,c: (Scetable): Phosphors like Nat I high energy, pro1ons. 110 I
,. " otc, ,
• 1r,
I Scintillation countcrt rn). C,I (n), ZnS (CU
ft T 1c opers_!inR conditio~~..!..~~bblE chamber fluid~. or As), Anthrncenc, oeteetlOn of chRr&Cd particle.,
l'lui<.1 u ,c<.I (lligh Tempcroturc c•q Pressure (aim) Toluene etc. a ,/J ,P ',,
r1u1on and encrSY ,nc:,a.1uremcnt.
}, ~t{ Density (kgtm3)
0
Huid N111urc
SIOflPlng Power) I Solid-State [)etectort \ SI or Oe doped with LI. producll, Hlsh•encrgy determination
Jiyd rogcn -246 5 5. PorB for X-rayt, cslltlngu!Jhlng one
60 Ughte.t {J-, X-ray,, charged
Dcu crium -241 7 130 I Cerenkov eountcra TraOIP8rcnt material• parllclc.'I, type of churgcll partlcle1 Crom
Light 6. (alu•, mien, cello•
, .I llcli 11n -269 1 130 the other.
Ught
Lj
'ropanc 58 21 430 Heavy
phlne etc.) De1cc110n of high energy pur-
-~ i~ t ~nc
n,.'.)n
157
-20
23
26
S00
2300
Heavy
VervHeavy 7. I Bubble a,amber
I Hydrocarbon• like liq-
Charged portlc\ea
l 1iclell,
'i '' ukl H2, He, Pen111ne,
!~ !~
l')l it,
N.B.: Liquid hydrog~is an ideal substance for st d 'n hi b ener in r ti ns wit1!,e.rotons. Xenon CIC, ·Ncurrol/charged par• 1 Detection and energy deter•
Bubble chambers are also used in , tlclea mlnauon Q!, par_tlclC! etc.
sc of a. I Nuclear Emulsions I Stiver snits
-~ I; hig,_h-encfirvTimic er o tfie , fe.
IH
'jl ':

more J.!!!.erac ions c

well as"ifs size arc m
ons o h1g,!t_~~-
larg_~ -·
~-~···. -·- ---- -
= ..·= --.......- - -.- , •.
er as
.
~111;,1;,t+itd
. . b tools or in medicine arc baACd on
The fo1matioo of 'tracks' is a sure sign that some hi -ener he 1. The atudy of radio-activity, and use of rad1auons as rese3!C
chamber. And the application of suitable magnetic fields (transverse o en e be
;il
quantltave tktection and measurement of radiation.
ch~~.. o_'!_~~~~ i'hese fields are re u1red to be a lied aroun . .A
deta1lccf st!;ld~ of the curvature ~nd hence the radius of curvature o ea 2. Particles ofradiatici~ cauae ionization through matter, in one way or the other.
t to 3. Different instruments use dir£erent materials, and
know t!!,searllcle momentum. High momen um or enCTgy partic es nd through low-curvature tracks they also differ how this ionization is ob-
(so thatradius or curvature is·very large) and vice-versa. Weak magnetic fields are of no use in such
I f .'
c11scs; rather very strong (say, about 25 kGs) fields are needed. •• ••• •
• ,cr,,cd/measured.
4. Different r.trengths of electrostatic fields are used in different detectors to separate the tons
• tI
Modern 'track analysis' becomes easier and faster' witb'the usage of suitable computing machines
11H;
hrp and components.
produced. Such fields vary fron1 50 V to 1000 V.
S. Ionization Chamber, Proportional Counter, Geiger-Muller Counter fall in the category of g.a..~-
li
h
Remarks. 1. The liquid used in•·a bubble chamber has to be : based ioni7.ation detectors.
!11 6. Radiation also has the property of scintillation/fluorescence effect with certain materials (phos-
ti (i) non.conductj•~s~so Jqi\J the jops would '£lain thejr charges;
(ii) of lo surface tension so that these bubbles will not easil collapse; phors). Scintillation Counters use this property. •
}! 7. The generation of free charge carriers in solids can also be used for detection of ioni7jng radiations.
(iii) of • Y4P9W::press~:ff 5g t at e~c;:2_11 e will have an apprecia~le fiU.
fl ..
2. A bubble cham~r is mu~h wme §CA§ili•(! M i9WPatcd to a cloud~hamber or emaj§ion: (i) lt
Semi-conductors like Ge and Si in such a usage form Solid State Detectors.
8. Cere~kov Detectors are based on the production of a bluish radiation cone of light if charged
1. 1, can record interactions (events) at much higher frequency. •
..
1
')
particles ~radiation to be detected) travel at a velocity greater than the velocity of light inside a
l" i)
(ii) Variety of options ( as regards the liquid) are available ; lighter or denser liqu~ds can be employed.
I (iii) The qualily of tracks is very good. The distortion in the tracks obtained with a bubble chamber medium > of refractive indexµ. .
II is quite low, while tracks with a cloud chamber arc quite distorted because of convection currents.
l
I
9. Cloud Chamber Bubble Chamber, Spark Chamber, Nuclear Emulsions etc. fall in the category of
I
3. A bubble chamber has become one of the most widely used instruments for studying high-energy 'track chambers'. These tracks, formed due to the unknown radiation through these devices, are
nni:lear reactions. visible and can be photographed/enlarg ed for further analysis.
• !.: !~: SUMMARISED RESULTS-A COMPARISON 10, In a gas-based detector, about 35 eV of energy is needed to produce an ion-pair. ,-
Having discussed the various detecting devices and their nature vi~-a-vis different radiations to be 11. Within a certain range of applied vollag~ (220 Vr, 800 V), there takes place •gas multiplication' •
or avalanche of secondary electrons reaching the' anode (wire). And the output voltage pulse
dt·t,clrd, let us now give a :mmmary of the relevant facts for comparison at a glance,
II.I
(J -~
\
(\fN\J
 //
Pradee-,t,'$ NUCL EAR PHYS•ICS t\

,,
Radia tion D•tector1
(6 ;;) is not only- ,y larga but also propor tional to the origina l numbe r o[ ion pairs. That iswby lh' ...
::"'-. nrrang ement is called a Propor tional Count er· 115
I
A G.M. counto r is basically thesftmc ionization tube IS • Antilog {13 •1.812} ln ampere
12. as in the Ioniza tion Chamb er or a p .
C ounter
. , but its electro static field is ltighe r- about 900 V to 1300 V It Is u•cd to • 1 ·911 x 10-u A or 0·19 ptco ampere &Pl)fox imatcly .
particles. • .. counrotpolrhonal Examp le 2. It atlma ud that an a•partu:t. b
c ,argcd totally ltop,-d in an lonitAUlon chambu· q/111, If
There is a stage during prod"" 1d 1 •5 X 105 Ion paJn in th. Melan d ps. ha.s
13. the
• a co11t1n
workin g of
• uous d'1sch
a G.M. counte r which requir ed 'quenching' Oth • h
u acumulaud witla the arri,al of Neh a-pan ld. W1lal
'!
b tJw a,ua19 IC.E. oftM a•pat1icll, 7 How mw:h char,ctt
ionization tube gwes argc an d counlm • g •1s not di.rcrer • . erwise, t e
e as it
14. Between two successive counts, a G .M. counte r is i11active during its dead time ( ~
should
I\ Solution. It ia straight forward eatimate because
producing one 10n pair (of the gu atoms) .
we ltnow only '35 eV of energy i~ '-pen\ in
15. Mode rn Scintillation Count ers \lSC scnsitivcplios 400 µs). •.
phor.r that arc transp arent to light. The light flashes K.E. of each a-particle ,_ energy spent/ion pair x
arc detect ed by means of aphoto multip litr tube. ll
No. of ion pain
16. Nucle ar Emulsions =- 35 eV X 1·5 X 10'
have replac ed the optica l enmlsi
rndiations) and can also be used in
o,u (which arc not suitable for nuclear Ii • 5·25 X 106 eV
'neutr on spectr
nor costly. They arc very sensitive and reliable, produc oscopy '. Nucle ar Emulsion& arc neither bulky
ing visible, high quality tracks. I?
~, = 5·25M eV.
17. A Bubbl e Cham ber involves the And the charge acumulated for each a-particle c:a'05ing
superlt eating o( a suitab le liq\\id and formation of bubble s on gaa ionization
sudde n reduct ion of liquid pressure. The ions create • Q =n .,
d along the particl e track act as condet1sation
sites for the formalio1, of these bubbles. = (1·5 X 1<>5) X (1·6X 1Q-l9C )
18. The liquids used in Bubbl e Chamb ers must = 2· 4 X 10- 14
be tra11sp arcnt, t1on- conduc ti11g, highly volatile but of C (coulom b).
low surface tension. Hydrogen; helium, pcntan e, and l~m~ 3
in use.
propan e etc. (in liquid state) are currently popula
r- C1
le • A proportionalcowaur u require to ha,- ca maximum radlalj icld of to' V,cm.
u aaas '!,I'S O•002 cm and l cm, upec:dwl.J,dhow If its wire
19. much ,oltcap Is rrquind·'I
Bubbl e Cham bers arc even more sensitive than d u!olutl_on. Basically, it is the ume equipment
cloud chambers or Emulsions and the quality of
tracks is very good. an maximum field developed between the wire i.e. the ionization chamber. The applied ~oltagc V
( +) and the cylinder body (wall) (-) 1:1
20. Applic ation of certain strong related.as arc
magne tic fields (transv erse) around the Bubbl e Chambers, containing • .........
th~ charge d particl e tracks, helps decide the sign of the charge on these particles. V
21. Mode rn 'track analysis' becom es easier and faster B..u = a log. (b/a); (Sec eqn. (7.2))
and compo nents. with the usage of suitable computing machines
Herc a .,. wire radius,
®o lve d IM um eri ca l [F, )ro • b - cylinder radius.
ble ms =
I
V E.us x alog,( b/a)
Exum pie 1. A uraniu m sample emittin gcx-pa rlicles
of tlrese particles be 4 • I 8 MeV and it is assum isp/uce tl nearanionizatlonchamber. Iftheenergy =(1<> 5V/cm )X0•0 02cmX 2·3026 log
Ii
1.' ed that as many as l Oparticles enter the chamber 10 (, lcm \
how much curren t J,,; produced '! per second, \ 0·002 cm)
t
Soluti on. We know that
=1<>5 V X 0·002 X 2·3026 logio {SOOl
in the ioniza tion chamb er, only about 35 electro n volt (eV) of energy is = 200 X 2·3026 X 2·6990 V
requir ed to produ ce un ion pair (in the gas
atoms). Thus, the total numbe r of ion pairs produ
1 a-part icle ced by • 11A2 V.
N.B. The ''V'' on the LH.S. is a notation for H.T.
4 •18 X 1<>6 eV •4 • 18 X 1<>6 Voltage applied, while the "V" on the R.H.S.
stands for the SJ. unit of this voltage
= 35eV = 35 Enmp
.
le 4. A G.M. counlU ' with a dead tinw of 250 microseconds ncords 15100 counLs per minute.
Total no. of ion pairs produ ced every second Estima te 1M dead-time loss and also IM %age error
with this performan u of th. colffller.
4·18 X 106 Solution, As wo know, between two successi~
= 35 X 10. extremely short duration. It is called
counts, a G.M. counter 11tops functioning Cut an
the dead-t ime. But as the inciden t particl es keep coming and causing
The charg e collec ted/s or the curren t streng th ionization, the count rate shownby the G.M. counte
. r is slightly lower than the actual value.We can estima
this differe nce and hence the percentage enor as well. If te
4 •18 x 106
= ( ---- -- X 10J parllcl
35 • es/s
x l • 6 x 10-19 C per part1c
• le (e lectron) N =- true count rate
Nobl = observed (lower) count rate
= ~-_!,\ ; l07 X l ·6 X 10- 19 A .
.,
t ,.. dead-time of the G.M,~ unter, then
.~
h
;1.
l
..
\
 --, .... "ct!, >.'~ ·~ -~ ''°'
-:s>_,. 'l'., •.,.,,. .J. <tc
<). -~ .,~
12,; cf!~ atio tt Dete do~ _,.
t< E "V' ,-- q_
J;, \. ,,,, "<J_,
f'rad ,U,'• NUC LEA R PHY
~IO
• ~:' t, ?.>
hoi ce ~u oa tlo n•
N- N.i,,
~ ~ u l t l p l e <C
t-~.t II. (h) ?. (c) \
~- (c) 6. (a) 7. (c)
4. (c)
l SJOO coun ta/m in. . (n) l. (rr) 3. (b)
l - lSlOO >< (2.SO x 10-l .r)/GO
.r
s \ \\
Sh ort An sw er Qu est ion
rt'1,
1
15100 coun ts/mi n.
- - I - 0·062 9 . .
~~J' ~: ti r radia tion Impo rtant ?t' detec tion/ me4! urem ent of r11dml1on, both
.
0 .
,~ on° wi~e , rudia tion
1. WhJ Is the detec tati\' e as well_ a., q~~n ll1a ,ve . 0 ver be mean ingfu l. Like
1s10
.. 0 , 9371 countl/m111.
.,_.
;\ns With out a quall I ur atudy of rad10-oc11v1ty, say, WI ne
- Anti log (4• 20n) (coun ts per
minu te) • • hos beco me other wise ).
charg ed as well as i:1eutrat, ol ~8erc h tool (thal it .
N > Nob,.) 't be U8Cd a., 11n ,mpo r anlna r- detec tors ? . . , .. .
- 16120 count&/min. (Not ice that
l
i' error .. N°"' - N X 100 .. 1510
0 - 1612 0 x 100
can • Wha t Is the work
~1s. Such instr umen

prtnc lple or nucl ear radia tion

ts arc ba.,e d on any one of the
bo&ic chara cleru .t,c.s of r.1d1a1Jon
•
i ~,
0
N 16120 t~ou gh whic h !hey pas.&.
1020 100 _ (c,) They ioniz e the gas (med ium)
- l6UO >< .. - 6·33 .
(b) They cau., e fluor ueen ce in
ecrta ,n niate nals.
1ft the obse rved value is lowe r than
the actual value .
(c:) They affec t the phot ogra phic
plate .
. . . ,
The %err or is nega tive beca use iple or an Ioniz ation cham ber. arc
3, Disc us. brten 1 the princ gas gets iomz ed. The ,on-p ~irs
ted is pass ed throu gh a gas. The
e ~u es tlo ns Ana Radi ation to be detec apph ccl pot.
lj J. An
of

~ u l t i p l e © ho lc
ioniz ation cham ber meas ures
the effec t
6. To get optim um (reas onab
le) 'reso lving
I
then quicl dy sepa rated with the
Wff.'and the ion curre nt, thesa nirot
help of an elect rosta tic field .
lon cttnY nt reg{o n is mark ed.
Prom the curv e betw een the
Th.is is o meas ure of the ener gy
extra ctcd/ s
ii (a) large num ber of char ged
(b) smal l num ber or charg ed

parti cles
parti clc5
powe r• and low 'noi3be
tor detec tor ahou ld
e level ' a semi -cond uc-
(a) kept at low temp eratu re
I,
out of the incid ent radja tion.
4. How does • prop ortio nal
Ans. If the pot. dirr. betw een
coun ter work ?
the centr al wire and the cylin
, the elect rons {of the ioniz ed ga&)
der of an 'ioni zatio n cham ber'
pick up enou gh energ y. ThC$C
ele<:tron_,
t.s mto a

is
(c) unch ange d parti cles. (b) kept Ill high temper11ture incre ased beyo nd a certa in value nche of seco o~ar y elec tro~ rcsul
gu) along their path . This avala cham ber. W1th m a certa m rang e of the
on coun ters arc highl y suita ble (c) kept •t varia ble temper11ture. prod uce more ion-p airs (in the
2. The scint illatition than in the ca.,c of the ioniz ation
or much highe r outp ut pulse 6V
!'I for the detec
(a) a-pa rticle s
(c) )'·ray s.
(b) P·pa rticlc s
7. Cere nkov r11diation is obi.m
spee d of a ehug ed parti cle
medi um is

ed only if the
throu gh a u.pplied volta ge, 6 V is prop ortio
S. Wha t Is the princ iple or
nal to the origi nal num ber
of ions.
a G.M . coun ter? Wh1&t are Its
llmit DUo ns '!
[J/.P .U- 1999 S, 2nd part, H.P.
U. 2000 S]
ter',
The time durin g whic h pulse s
are reco rded
(a) less than the apec d of
light in that the case of a prop ortio nal coun
3. ied pot. diff. still laigh er than in
of smal ler size in a G.M . coun Ans. Basic ally, with the appl
h. (The
ter is ·med ium it spre ads out alon g the wire lengt excit ed
but are rons is .oot only very i.oten se but these
calle d
(b) equa l to the spee d of light
in that the avala nche ofsec onda ry elect U.V. phot ons liber ated, when
have now been excit ed). The ation . With the (&low) mov emen in the
t of ions
(b) recov ery time medi um inne r•~ well os oute r elect rons
(a) dead time nd energ y level!., caus e more ioniz
elect rons fall baclc to their grou + ve elect rode (wire ), there is
a/all
[H.P .(/, 2001 , 2001 SJ light in that nder wall) and elect .rons to the
(c) resol ving time. (c) grea ter than the spee d of . regio n of
. coun ter medit1tn.. (+)l o the -ve elect rode (cyli heigh t now beco mes almo st cons tant. This regio n is the G.M
The time durin g whic h the G.M appli ed pot. diffe rence . The pulse assem bly of
4. ion that lies be detec ted, (ii) its over all
does not reco rd pulse s is know
n as its 8. Cere nkov radia tion is em-r adiat : (i) unch arge d parti cles can't
in opera tion. lt.s limit ation s are insen sitive durin g 'dead time. '
(a) resol ving time (b) recov
ery time •.om ponc nts is bulky , (iii) ii is ter'?
(a) infra -red regio n{b) visib le
regio n 'reco very time ' of a G.M . coun
(c) dead time. (\. Wh1&t Is the 'dead time ' and , H.P. U. 2000 S, 2004 , 05]
(c) ultrav iolet regio n. , 97, 99, 2000 , Pb{. U. 1998
. s. The satur ation curre nt in the grap
h betw een
or elect rons
[G.N .D.U . 2004 , P.U. 1996
) to ioniz ation betw een two succ d
es-
volta ge and curre nt is know n as
the 9. The Cere nkov effec t in the
case
Ans. A G.M . coun ter beco
mes insen sitive (or non- funct ional i., calle
. each pulse is reco rded . This lime
(a) ioniz ation regio n
is for abou t 200 µs Lo 400 µs after . This brief
sive pulse s. This insen sitivi ty last& , it has Lo beco me sensi tive again
(a) far less than for a-par ticle s Befo re it reso! res the next pulse ofsmal ler
(b) prop ortio nal regio n t~e •~cad -time ' of the coun ter. , the pulse s arc reco rded but arc
(b) comp arabl e to that for a-pa
rticle s ' of the coun ter_ Duri ng this time
(c) plate au regio n. ll_me JS know n as 'reco very time
ticle s.
(c) far more than that for a-par
Sl7.C,
e- 7\
,,r,
(\f 'rv \ r
"'.
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fudt@ '# _NUCLEAR PHYSICS

£Phi, U. ~,/999, G.N,D.U. 20051
ent material (llkeZaS) they

Rotllot in D.t,etiw,
(3) They an compact and tidy.
"'
An It Is based on thcfact that whenever rad1allo11A C1II on a fiuoreac
'r'
,,
• ~;~cd the 'photomultiplier tube'. The 'amplified' pulac 1ign11l1
y coupled' to another com~n ent
lluco ~~intilluting flashes of (viaible) light. Tbeao flubcs 11re 'opticall to the third component (the
are Ced
( They 11e lea, aclllithe lo y-r.y btdvouod.
(5) Their rctpoaac is liaear OYCr a wide rlllge ol enerf (o(
r
olcctronlc counter), (6) They CIII handle qvite high count rate, ( • lo',- ).
a G.M. counter. f)f.P,U, 2001 SJ 12. Gm • - duadft ntep, of -koad actor cldedort.
l H. Give II compnrlson between a proportJonal counter and Ihue devices
d gaa ioniuUon, while a O.M. w. (1) Bceauac of• th.In dep~ regjoo (not m«e than a few mm in any caAe),
I .~ Ans. (1) A proportional counter worka on the principle ofenhance
•'t 'counter uses the indirect ionl1.ation and much more enhanced ionizatio
n (avalanche), c•n't be UICd tor ¥e,Y CIIClptic particle, (in apectrometera).
(2) They 11e more acnaitive lo visible light ; u auch they muat
be kept m fuU dukness
the latter can't do ao. IP.U. 1999, ?? SJ
I (2) The former is suitable for even low energy X-rays or y-ra}'ll; 13. What la CeraikouadlaUoa 7
diffi. are required for the litter. Anl, No material particle can - r travel inlreeapace
(vacuum) with a1pecd11 c. But the speed
(3) While lower voltages 11re needed in the first, much higher pot. ably nduud to cl1'· If charged particles
(4) It can detect uncharged particle.\, ; a O.M. counter can't. of light in a (lr1111p11cnt) medium of re&actm indexJI ia CONitkr
of a cone or blui&h light. ThiA cmi.uion
in the fiut case, but not so travel in such a mediom it apceda > c/JJ, it rcaulu in the emwion
(5) Thecuse. pulse height is dependent on the energy of the incident particle ia bown 11 'Cerenkov radiation' and the effect by the aame name.
in the second
Wh7 an CcrmkoY detedo n more uelul 7
(6) Proportional counter hos high rcaolution; o O.M. counter hu
lower rcaolution.
w. The condition v > clµ is called the 'wloclty C011did0tt'can for 'Ccreokov effect' to t;,,ke place.
we COIIUOI the refractive index I' of
(7) There is no such problem ns the 'dead-time' with a proporti
onal counter aa with the O.M, Such detectors are more uaeful because with • ga, 11 a medium,
of incident radiation is pou.iblc th.at can
counter~ . the filled gas with pressure variationa. And a 'range ol \'elocilics'
(y-ray related phenomenon), the utisfy the velocity condition : 11 > CIJJ.
(8) While the former can l>e used to study the 'Moas-bauer effect 15. What la the prtndple or a 1ernl-condador det«tor ?
latter can't be. on the interface of a l'N-junct1on
A.JU. Semi-conductora maJce use of the basic fact that a thin layer
.f 9. What criteria Is used In the aclcctlon or sclntlllator
possessed by n sdtlllotlon material used In a sclntllhltlon counter
malerlnl,? OR Menllon some proJ)frtlea
. (J'.U. 199$.S.J i!;eta depltttd (during the junction formation) or charge carriers.
aero&& tbia crystal, the clccllona and bolca produced (in pairs) iotbc
When a rever11e-hias (R.B.) is applied
depiction region by an ionizing particle
selection of such a material: pulse iutt up.
Aus. The following main conditions are kept in mind during the are 11ppropriatcly picked up. N. • rcault, • amaJt but d1ltfnct voltage
(i) It should have high conversion efficiency for incident radiation
into scintillation,,
will cause photocmission.
Long Answ er Que stion s
(/,) It should remain tra~sparent to its own light. Actually this light the principle, working, and
of refractive index (withreapect 1, Describe the common lypca o( radiation detectorL Diaaw in dew!
(iir) To avoid 'total internal reflection', it should have suitable value
• , uses of a G.M. COUDtcr. What is "dead time" ol a G.M. counter 7
to the radiation used).
incident radiation. [G.N.J>.U. 1998 S, P.U. 1996 S, Type 1997 SJ
(iv) The phosphor used should have high resolving power for the What aregas-fiUed ionization-based nuclear detector, 7 Explain the
difference between Ionization -
2.
(v) It should be long lasting (i.e. quite stable). is quenching achieved in a G.M.
':f I chamber, Proportional countu, and Geiger-Muller counter. How
I 1(), Nome the various materla b used 01 scintilla
tors. [Pbi. U. 1998, 2000)
counter? [H.P.U. 1995 S, 1996, 199 S, Part: G.N.D.U. l?'JIS S, H.P.U. WOii
detection. Being hygroscopic Describe the principle and working of an ionization chamber.
1
i\ns, (1) Nnl (Thallium acti_vated) is better known for its use fory-ray
1~ I 3,
111\
it has to be scaled properly. [H.P.U.1999 S, G.N.D.U. 1995 S, OR Part I
(2) Z11S is activated with Cu or Ag and is extensively u5cd
for much short-ranged particles. It is OR
on efficiency •mong •ll the known /J and y particlu by ionization
used in thin layers for avoiding opacity. Jl has the highest light converai Write note on ao Ionization Chamber. Why can't you detect
phosphors. [Type P.U. 1996 S, 97 SI
chamber 7
(3) Cs! (Tl) has proved to be an excellent phosphor for
the detection of a-particle., and protons. It 4. (a) Describe the principle, co~rud ion and working of a proporti
onal counter.
is non- hygroscopic also. [Pbi. U.1993, G.N.D.U. 2002I
(4) Plastic and Liquid Scintillators arc preferablyused in
counter telescopes employed in high-ener- (b) How it differs from a G.M. counter 7 Explain.
J gy phy~ic.<. [JJ.P.U. 2001 S, Paru (a), (b). FuU; G.N.D.U. 1998 s, 1999 SI
for a gas filled counter serving
(S) Anthrace11e and Stilbene are organic phosphors,
prefered for P-deteclion and y-detection. 5. Discuss the curve between the 'pulse height' and 'applied voltage'
as (i) u ionization counter, (ii) a proportional counter, (iii) a
Geiger Muller cuunlcr. What is the
(6) Gases notably tbc inert gases produce U.V, scintillat
ions if nuclear radiation strikes them. [Part (iii) G.N.D. U. I 9'.17 SI
[P,U. 1998 SJ specific characteristic of O.M. region 'I
11. Enumerate some advantages o: semi-conductor
counters, . Give iL< advantages, types used.
6. What is a scintillation counter 7 Describe its principle and working
1//1 Ans. (1) These detectors arc cheaper and long-lasting. Briefly give a few desirable properties of a good scintillator.
(2) Their energy resolution is h.igh. -..., [Type:G.N.J>.U.1996, P.U. 1996, 97S, 99, '.19S1
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