The influence of a radial thermal gradient in a Geiger counter

Abstract

It is found that a radial thermal gradient imposed on a Geiger counter modifies its operating parameters considerably, resulting in a bigger pulse-height, lower threshold potential, smaller dead-time and rise-time, respectively. A close parallelism between the effects of a radial thermal gradient and a potential gradient is indicated. It is suggested that the alteration of the density of the enclosed gaseous mixture in the neighbourhood of the axial wire is responsible for the corresponding modification of the Townsend avalanche region surrounding the wire.