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Re: Thinking About A Geiger Counter

Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 07:45 AM 11/2/2005, Tesla list wrote: 
Original poster: "coryrc" <coryrc@xxxxxxxxx>

With all the high voltage work I do around Vacuums I thought it might be
good to get a gamma scout. (http://www.gammascout.com/geiger-counter.html)
Just in case I am x-raying myself, it would also be nice to know my exposure
through the year. Any thoughts would be great, also wondering if any fellow
coilers had a gamma scout, or have found something better?

Happy Coilin',
Cory Capps


Ahhh.. the weird and wonderful world of radiation metrology...

Companies like Landauer will be happy to set you up with film badges and a monitoring program at remarkably low cost.

First off.. small GM tubes can detect some Xrays, but typically, only ones of energy more than say 60 keV. If you need to detect soft xrays, you need fancier gear (like the scintillation counters used in the paper by Dwyer or a film badge or a good ionization chamber).

Or, you can make your own, which would surely appeal to tesla coilers, who, after all, do insane things like making rolled poly caps.

Get yourself a copy of the book by John Strong, Procedures in Experimental Physics, which every self respecting physics hobbyist should have, anyway.
Lindsay books carries it: http://www.lindsaybks.com/bks/expphy/ Worth every penny of the $26.

Lots of detail on making ionization chambers, GM tubes, etc.

the other good book ( a bit priceier at $60, but much more modern) is
Building Scientific Apparatus, by Moore, Davis, Coplan, and Greer

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=ru64ICTCqI&isbn=0813340063&TXT=Y&itm=47

No how to build a GM tube here, but lots of other useful info.