Proportional Counter (Noun)
Meaning
Counter tube whose output pulse is proportional to number of ions produced.
Classification
Nouns denoting man-made objects.
Examples
- The proportional counter consists of a metal tube filled with a gas mixture that ionizes when a radiation particle passes through it.
- Proportional counters are widely used in medicine for radiation cancer treatment, industrial applications for material inspection, and in research for large particle accelerators.
- When an ionizing event occurs within the proportional counter, it generates a pulse whose amplitude is proportional to the number of ions produced.
- Proportional counters use a thin anode wire, and the electric field near the wire is strong enough to produce avalanche multiplication of the ions.
- In the proportional counter, the output signal is proportional to the initial ionization produced by the ionizing radiation.