How and When to Use Geiger Counter?

You may already know that a Geiger counter, also known as a Geiger Mueller detector, measures radioactivity levels in a specified area. It contains a tube, called the Geiger Mueller tube or GM tube, that picks up on different types of radiation, including alpha, gamma and beta varieties. You might wonder when and why this type of detector is needed in real life. Here are some of the applications of a Geiger counter.

Checking Radiation in Professional Settings

Numerous professional industries and applications make use of Geiger counters for checking levels of radiation. One is dosimetry, which checks how much radiation is in a person’s bodily tissue. This could apply to a person who works in a field that could expose him to radiation, such as an irradiator operator or a nuclear gauge user.

Many workers are around radioactive materials. This includes people who work in nuclear energy, with radiotherapy machines or industrial gauges. It also includes those in geology, health physics and other industries. Geiger counters can help these workers know the level of radiation they are exposed to, that are in a certain environment or that are present within experiments.

Another area where people could be professionally exposed to radiation is experimental physics. In this type of physics, scientists might experiment with radiation. A Geiger counter helps them understand the levels of radiation in the experiment.

Geiger Counters for Personal Use

While Geiger counters have numerous important uses in the professional world, you could also use a Geiger Mueller detector for personal use. It could help you know how safe your home and work environments are in a variety of ways.

You could check the levels of radon in your home to make sure it’s safe and cut your risk of lung cancer. You could also measure the radiation levels of the environments where you spend your time. You could even test your food, packages and people for radiation.

Some radiation is common in an environment as there are naturally occurring radioactive materials around us and even in our food. But you can test to make sure the level doesn’t get to an unsafe level. The natural level of radiation is around 2.00 mSv on your Geiger counter, while a dangerous level would be 100.00 mSv per year, which is correlated with cancer. Exposure to a single dosage of 1,000.00 mSv can cause radiation sickness, while higher levels of 6,000.00 or more mSv can lead to death.

Geiger counters have a variety of professional applications, and you can get their same benefits for testing radiation levels where you spend your time on a personal basis. Knowing the level of radiation you’re exposed to can help you be safer by preventing high exposure levels.