Geiger counters can detect plutonium. This is, apparently, a common misconception. Please watch the video above and you will see why and how a radiation detector can at least in theory, detect plutonium. So let's dive into the details of how, why and when...
Old fashioned and obsolete civil defense radiation detectors are a good example of radiation detectors that CANNOT detect alpha radiation and thus will likely miss a pure plutonium radiation sample, especially a small one, like a hot particle. The older civil defense Geiger Counters are surrounded by metal containers and alpha particles cannot penetrate the metal to hit the detector that is inside the box. Another issue with them is that they may have lost calibration, so they are not accurate any more.
A cheap Geiger Counter is generally 'tuned' to detect Cesium, which emits beta radiation. You have to check with the manufacturer and ask specifically if a detector will pick up alpha radiation. Also ask what the detector is 'tuned' to detect, especially if you are trying to detect small amounts of plutonium. Plutonium is only going to be out there, in very small, minute nano particle amounts.
As Antiproton points out, a 'hot 'particle' of plutonium is invisible. Then your detector would have to right on top of it, and then you would have to a longer timed test to even detect anything from it, because the radiation given off by that hot plutonium particle that is made up of millions of plutonium atoms in a dust mote is so miniscule, it is hard to detect, especially when compared with cesium or strontium for example. But that does not mean that hot particles are safe, particularly if they get inside of you.
For even more details, click on;
For even more details, click on;
Live in San Francisco? You, Your Dog And Your Kids Inhaled Billions Of Radioactive Plutonium Atoms; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/01/live-in-san-francisco-you-your-dog-and.html
Cheap radiation detectors commonly sold out there for $100 to $200, have tubes that look like a short pencil inside of them and they are pretty insensitive for low level radiation, such as plutonium, which generally is a minute part of the total radiation ejected out of a nuclear accident. You cannot use this cheap type of detector for anything other than warning you about a fairly high dose of radiation or plume coming over. It is not useful for detecting low doses of radiation found in food, etc.
It is much easier to pick up the much more intense radiation given off by cesium and uranium, which give off high levels of beta and gamma radiation, than the alpha radiation given off by minute amounts of plutonium. Most radiation detectors are 'calibrated' for cesium, but will detect alpha, beta and gamma radiation, unless the detector is behind metal, or enclosed somehow. Alpha radiation is blocked by a piece of paper.
It is much easier to pick up the much more intense radiation given off by cesium and uranium, which give off high levels of beta and gamma radiation, than the alpha radiation given off by minute amounts of plutonium. Most radiation detectors are 'calibrated' for cesium, but will detect alpha, beta and gamma radiation, unless the detector is behind metal, or enclosed somehow. Alpha radiation is blocked by a piece of paper.
More expensive pancake style detectors can much more easily pick up alpha radiation given off by plutonium because they have a much larger surface area on the detector head. The detector head or tube in a more expensive and much more sensitive radiation detector is a round disc shaped object which you can see in your detector.
The ads for radiation detectors often do not disclose what type of detector tube they are using. Ask the manufacturer or retailer what TYPE of detector tube or head is in the Geiger Counter you are thinking of purchasing; (is it a tube or a round disc?). The much more sensitive and useful disc or pancake types of detectors generally cost around $400 up to $1,000, depending on brand, features, and whether they are in kit form, include software, GPS, etc. In AGRP's opinion, it is not worth buying the cheaper detectors, unless you want a 2nd cheaper 'backup detector' for whatever reason. Invest in a high quality, reputable US manufactured, pancake style Geiger Counter..
The ads for radiation detectors often do not disclose what type of detector tube they are using. Ask the manufacturer or retailer what TYPE of detector tube or head is in the Geiger Counter you are thinking of purchasing; (is it a tube or a round disc?). The much more sensitive and useful disc or pancake types of detectors generally cost around $400 up to $1,000, depending on brand, features, and whether they are in kit form, include software, GPS, etc. In AGRP's opinion, it is not worth buying the cheaper detectors, unless you want a 2nd cheaper 'backup detector' for whatever reason. Invest in a high quality, reputable US manufactured, pancake style Geiger Counter..
Generally speaking, radiation arrives with a bunch of radioactive elements all put together, like a crowd of people. Each person in a crowd represents a radioactive element. The Geiger Counter is going to 'see' the crowd, not plutonium within it, which is only 1 person in a crowd of let's say 100,000 people. A Geiger Counter is designed to warn you about the radioactive crowd coming, not the 1 person that is called plutonium.
Any radiation detector sensitive or not, is going to find everything else first, cesium, uranium, strontium, etc.. plutonium will be so minute a part of the radiation plume, it is impossible to pick it out and say that plutonium is there or not there, with a standard Geiger Counter. Beta and gamma rays travel so much further and have so much more energy at longer distances that they are easier to detect.
Beta and gamma radiation will register and hit the detector to the point where it cannot even 'see' plutonium, even though it is there, especially if you are more than 2 inches away from a surface. Alpha rays only travel about 2 inches and then you cannot even detect them anymore, as AntiProton points out.
Beta and gamma radiation will register and hit the detector to the point where it cannot even 'see' plutonium, even though it is there, especially if you are more than 2 inches away from a surface. Alpha rays only travel about 2 inches and then you cannot even detect them anymore, as AntiProton points out.
Because plutonium all by itself is so hard to detect with a just a standard Geiger counter, a plutonium detector has to be very sensitive, (pancake style). But even a pancake detector that can and will detect alpha radiation emitting plutonium, will not tell you if it is plutonium or not. A Geiger counter registers clicks or hits of radiation from gamma, beta and alpha radiation on the tube, but it does not isolate each click and tell you what it is coming from. It warns you that danger is there, but cannot tell you what kind of danger is there.
To find and identify plutonium specifically all by itself on top of a contaminated surface sample or some object that has radiation contamination, you have to have a radiation detector that can be tuned to, or pick out just the right 'frequency' or type of radiation.
The above home made alpha radiation detector is designed to detect ONLY alpha radiation. Another model of this same kind of alpha radiation detection device is talked about here;
http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2014/01/spark-detector-for-alpha-particles.html
The above home made alpha radiation detector is designed to detect ONLY alpha radiation. Another model of this same kind of alpha radiation detection device is talked about here;
http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.com/2014/01/spark-detector-for-alpha-particles.html
A more expensive version would be a detector that has to include software to show the plutonium as a 'spike' in a graph.. Here is an example of another type of plutonium detection device. You will notice this device is nothing like a standard Geiger counter, which only registers clicks per minute, or a gross radiation reading.
Antiproton compares several different brands of detectors on one sample of an alpha radiation sample... A basic scintillation counter is just like a Geiger counter in that it only measures that radiation is present. A scintillator connected to a device called a multi-channel spectrum analyzer. This software can tell you what energies the photons hitting the scintillator have, and you can determine the nuclide from that.
WHERE TO PURCHASE A HIGH QUALITY PANCAKE STYLE GEIGER COUNTER
If you don't have a radiation detector, click on the link below. This brand is recommended by AGRP and has the round pancake style of detector head, which is much more sensitive than the cheaper tube types of detectors. Cheaper brands and many more choices are available at the AGRP store link..
Stay safe out there, AGRP has your back.
Thanks for your generous and very appreciated support!
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What is the take away?
You have been introduced to the different ways and tools that are required to detect plutonium and have links to purchase radiation detection equipment of your choosing.
End
Can Geiger Counters Detect Plutonium? via @AGreenRoad
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