Geiger tube
Definition
Noun: A Geiger tube is the core sensing component of a Geiger counter. It is a sealed glass or metal tube, typically filled with an inert gas at low pressure, that detects ionizing radiation (such as alpha or beta particles or gamma rays). When radiation enters the tube, it ionizes the gas, creating a brief, measurable electrical pulse that is counted.
Usage
The term is used specifically to refer to the radiation-detecting tube itself, distinct from the electronic counting circuitry and housing of the complete Geiger counter instrument. - The scientist replaced the damaged Geiger tube to restore the counter's functionality. - Early Geiger tubes were sensitive to the type and energy of the incoming radiation.
Advanced Usage
- Geiger-Müller tube: This is the full technical name, often abbreviated as G-M tube. It honors both Hans Geiger and Walther Müller, who improved the original design.
- The laboratory equipment list specified a halogen-quenched Geiger-Müller tube.
Variants and Related Words
- Geiger counter (noun): The complete portable instrument used for detecting and measuring radioactivity, which contains a Geiger tube.
- Geiger-Müller counter (noun): Synonym for Geiger counter, using the full name of the tube.
- Ionization chamber (noun): A broader category of radiation detection devices; a Geiger tube is a specific, sensitive type of ionization chamber.
Synonyms
- Radiation detection tube
- G-M tube (abbreviation)
Related Phrases/Compounds
- Tube wall: The material (often glass or metal with a thin window) of the Geiger tube that radiation must pass through.
- Quenching gas: A small amount of gas (e.g., halogen vapor) added to the main gas in the tube to stop the ionization discharge after each detection event.
Noun
-
an ionization chamber contained in a tube in a Geiger counter
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