Article
Article
- Physics
- Nuclear physics
- Gamma-ray detectors
- Engineering & Materials
- Instruments
- Gamma-ray detectors
Gamma-ray detectors
Article By:
Ward, David Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, Ontario, Canada.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.279400
- Response to gamma radiation
- Photon interactions in matter
- Gamma-ray spectra and detector characteristics
- Gas-ionization detectors
- Scintillation detectors
- Solid-state detectors
- Detector systems
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
Instruments that register the presence of gamma (γ) radiation. Such detectors convert some or all of the energy of gamma radiation into an electrical signal. Most instruments are capable of detecting individual gamma-ray photons (or quanta), each of which produces a short (0.1–5-microsecond) current pulse at the detector output. The output pulses may be made visible on an oscilloscope, made audible through a speaker (such as the familiar Geiger counter), or be electronically processed further, depending on the application. See also: Gamma rays; Oscilloscope
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