[ RadSafe ] Detecting Alphas

[Cindy Bloom]

Sid,

Side-window Geiger-Mueller (GM) tubes typically don't detect alphas because 
the tube wall is too thick to allow the alpha particle to penetrate, but 
pancake GM probes and some end window GM tubes have windows (mylar) thin 
enough to let the alpha particles into the detector where they deposit 
their energy and are thus detected.

Cindy

At 05:27 PM 12/20/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>I was under the impression that normal G-M tubes, even thin window ones, 
>could not detect alpha particles.  Given that alphas only travel a couple 
>of inches through air and that a piece of paper stops them, this always 
>seemed logical to me.  Now I am told G-M tubes detect alphas just fine, 
>and I am thinking I must have lost my mind in remembering otherwise.
>
>Can anybody shed light ion this subject?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Syd H. Levine
>AnaLog Services, Inc.
>Phone:  (270) 276-5671
>Telefax:  (270) 276-5588
>E-mail:  analog at logwell.com
>Web URL:  www.logwell.com
>
>
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