Experimental methods of registration of ionizing radiation.

The main methods of registration of ionizing radiation: Wilson chamber, Geiger counter, bubble chamber, emulsion chamber, scintillation counter.

The Wilson chamber is filled with saturated vapor gas. Inside the chamber, the piston is moved quickly up and down, the gas expands, cools and becomes oversaturated. Now, if a particle flies through the chamber, which creates ions on its way, then vapor droplets will settle on them. These droplets will create a “tail” behind the particle, like a comet (or, as it is called, a “track”).

Geiger counter. The cylinder with two electrodes is sealed and filled with gas. A high voltage is applied to the electrodes, the primary electrons, already accelerated, ionize the rest of the gas molecules. Under the influence of an electric field, new ions and electrons are formed, which sharply increase the conductivity, which leads to a discharge.

The bubble chamber is a sealed chamber with liquid hydrogen at a boiling point under high pressure. By drastically reducing the pressure, the liquid gas is transformed into an overheated state. When moving, a charged particle forms a chain of ions, the liquid boils, and a track of bubbles is created in the course of the particle.

The main substance in the emulsion chamber is AgBr. By ionizing bromine atoms with particles, silver ions are reduced, resulting in a black trace.

A scintillation counter uses a substance with a luminescent effect produced by charged particles and a photomultiplier tube that detects flashes of light from the passage of particles.