Proportional counters using commercial equipment

Summary

• 1. The use of the Moscow mains gas for the above counters and for the 4π counter [1] makes proportional flow counters more practical and easier to operate.

• 2. When the gas is burnt on ordinary laboratory burners its consumption varies between 4 and 25 liter/hr. Since the efficiency of counting remains practically constant despite this variation, no additional devices for controlling the gas flow are required.

• 3. For the standard instrument PS-10000 produced by our industry a proportional flow counter SP-3 has been designed and constructed. The counter is intended for measuringα-andβ -radiations with normal targets which are used in the operation of butt counters. It can also be used with other electronic counting devices which have the required pulse amplifier and a source of high tension with a grounded positive side. Counter SP-3 is superior in its basic operating characteristics (in a stationary condition) to the butt counters with a window and to α- and β -scintillation counters; moreover, its construction is much simpler.

• 4. For measuringga- andβ -radioactive radiations the TISS instrument is used with a slightly altered TYu unit, as a result of which it becomes possible to measure low energyβ -radiations (the counter window has an area of 150 cm² with a transparency up to 0.3 mg/cm²). Moreover, the TISS instrument also acquires a new valuable property, namely it can measure pollutions by such isotopes as sulfur-35, promethium-147, carbon-14, and others.

• 5. Counter SP-1 has been designed and constructed for measuring radioactive gas which is transmitted, for instance, from a radiochromatograph column, or for similar purposes. Counter SP-1 was used with a counting-rate meter type ISS and a recording potentiometer ÉPP-09, which provided a continuous recording of the radioactivity of the measured gas with a high efficiency of counting.