| | Category | PH | P25 | Detection of Radioactive Isotopes in the Radon Decay Chain |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this experiment was to construct and test an ion |
| | chamber to determine whether it could detect radioactivity being emitted by |
| | certain items and quantify the relative amounts of these emissions. The |
| | ion chamber, together with a dust collector, was also used in an attempt to |
| | detect the presence of radon in a home and being produced by common |
| | construction materials. |
| | The ion chamber was built out of common, inexpensive, electronic |
| | components and recycled steel cans. When radioactive particles passed |
| | through the main body of the chamber, ions were produced. The |
| | interaction of these ions with the chamber caused a small current to flow |
| | which could be amplified by using a transistor. This amplified current flow |
| | was measurable with a digital multimeter. |
| | The radiation emitted by several radioactive items was detected by the |
| | ion chamber and could be quantified by using the voltage readings |
| | provided by the multimeter. The ion chamber was also able to measure the |
| | presence of radon gas produced by the radium paint on dial of a pre- |
| | 1950’s clock. |
| | The ion chamber was used to test for radon in different areas of a home. |
| | It was not able to indicate the presence of radon in any of the areas |
| | tested, either because there was indeed no radon or because the ion |
| | chamber was not sensitive enough to detect it. |
| | Two common construction materials, granite and brick, were also tested |
| | to determine if they were sources of radon gas. The ion chamber did not |
| | indicate the presence of radon being emitted by these two sources, either |
| | because there was none or because the ion chamber was not sensitive |
| | enough to detect it. |
| | Bibliography | Books: |
| | Christensen, J. (1990). The Structure of an Atom. London: Wiley. |
| | |
| | Giancoli, D. (1980). Physics: Principles with Applications. Englewood |
| | Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. |
| | |
| | Gray, T. (2009). The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom |
| | of the Universe. New York, NY: Leventhal Publishers, Inc. |
| | |
| | Lauf, R. (2008). Introduction to Radioactive Minerals. Atglen, PA: Schiffer |
| | Publishing Ltd. |
| | |
| | Mims, F. (2000). Getting Started in Electronics. Niles, IL: Master Publishing |
| | Inc. |
| | |
| | Moore, A. (1997). Electrostatics: Exploring, Controlling, and Using Static |
| | Electricity Second Edition. Garden City, NY: Laplacian Press. |
| | |
| | Urone, P. (2001). College Physics Second Edition. Pacific Grove, CA: |
| | Brooks/Cole. |
| | |
| | Wehr et al. (1984). Physics of the Atom Fourth Edition. Reading, MA: |
| | Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. |
| | |