EXTENSIONS 1. If you were presented with a safe, but unknown, radiation source,

Question

EXTENSIONS 1. If you were presented with a safe, but unknown, radiation source, and assuming that it emitted only one type of radiation, devise a test that would allow you to tentatively identify the type of radiation as primarily alpha, beta, or gamma. Write instructions for another student to follow in performing the test. Your monitor detected some radiation even without a source present. Devise a method to correct for this background radiation. Do the corrected data still agree with your prediction? 2.

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Solution

1. To determine the type of radiation (alpha, beta or gamma), first determine the background count rate, then the source count rate with no absorber. Next, place a sheet of paper between the source and the monitor. If the counts are significantly reduced, the source emits alpha particles. If the count rate is not significantly reduced, place a 2 mm thick sheet of aluminum between the source and the monitor. If the count rate goes almost to the background level, the source is emitting beta particles. If the count rate is only reduced, the source is a gamma source.

2. To ensure that you calculate the correct activity for a source, the background activity must first be measured and taken into account.

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