#radiation meter

What did i do this weekend?

Made a prop RO20 radiation meter out of foam board.

The camera sensors for smartphones can detect radiation before it reaches unsafe levels even if it is not as accurate as a traditional detector. Additionally, it can be used as a personal dosage estimator and an alarm for the presence of high radiation levels. Yes, (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) CMOS and (Charged Coupled Device) CCD cameras in smartphones and other devices can detect radiation.

The cameras are sensitive enough for many applications even though they are less sensitive than Geiger-Muller counters, specialized solid-state detectors, and scintillators. This setting helps to create the occasionally significant background noise different from the radiation signal. Scientists evaluated radiation detecting software on four cell phones, concluding that it functions effectively enough to serve as a first aid alarm system.

Although it won't be as sensitive as a typical detector, they claim it will be sufficient to detect radiation before it reaches lethal levels and serves as a reliable warning system. Gamma rays should, theoretically, be detectable by electronic cameras in mobile phones in the same way that visible light photons are. Scientists concluded that smartphones have enough processing capacity to use their in-built cameras to detect and quantify gamma radiation.

When incoming photons strike the electrons inside a pixel, a charge generates that an electrical circuit can use to detect light. As a result, cell phones unexpectedly turn into effective gamma radiation detectors (the camera body is likely to stop alpha and beta radiation).

If a minor part of radiation enters inside your body, it can also cause a detrimental impact on your health. The excess amount of radiation can be extremely dangerous. The main sources of radiation are cell phones, wireless networks, and x-ray machines. Even there are several sources of radiation in the environment every day.  

Let's examine the top 5 Android applications for radiation detection.

Android Radiation Detection App 1: Pocket Geiger.

It is among the top Android applications for radiation detection. Mobile phone microphones are used by pocket Geiger radiation detector apps to detect the presence of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Simply said, this program turns the microphone into a reverse pin diode so it can measure EMR. This is the procedure. You can get Pocket Geiger for free from the Google Play store.

Android Radiation Detection App 2: Tawkon

As a result of our knowledge that radiation exists all around us, we can continue to be secure from it. The radiation emitted from any cell phone may be measured using the Tawkon app for Android. The tip that encourages you to emit the least amount of radiation level is the best feature of this radiation detection app for Android. It analyses and monitors radiation levels to minimize exposure. It continuously provides SAR information input.

Tawkon has several features which make it one of the top Android applications for radiation detection.

Android Radiation Detection App 3: Radioactivity Counter  

The third Android app to detect radiation has a name that already makes it apparent how it works. The radioactivity counter was created by experts in the field of EMF (electromagnetic field) or radiation for this app was one of the top radiation detection apps.

The main selling point of this application is its ability to measure radiation in the range of (ionizing radiation dose) 2-10 Gy to 1-10 Gy/h. Depending on the shielding employed in the cell phone, it can detect gamma radiation and greater beta radiation level. For $253, you can download this app to your smartphone.

EMF Radiation Detector and Radiation Meter are two Android apps to check for radiation.

Users may learn whether radiation is present using the Radiation Meter app.

The Radiation Meter app's operation is pretty straightforward; To detect the magnetic field surrounding you, it is the combination of the magnetic sensor of the Android phone.

It cannot be integrated with mobile devices that lack a magnetic sensor or magnetometer since it needs one. Field attractiveness is measured in T. (miniature tesla). The average EMF level is around 490mG or 49T (micro-Tesla) (Milli gauss). 1μT = 10mG. Upon identifying metal activity nearby, the micro-Tesla value increases.

Android Apps to Detect Radiation #5-Ultimate EMF Detector:

Users can use this app for free or with a paid membership. One of the better apps for detecting radiation is this one.

This software looks lovelier because of the many themes that are available (Graphics and UI).

This software uses a magnetic sensor to measure the presence of EMF and display readings from a line of LEDs and a needle meter. One of the top applications for 2020 is the Ultimate EMF detector app.

Key Takeaways

Radiation detector A Geiger Counter, also known as a Geiger-Mueller tube, is a device used to detect radioactive radiation by passing radioactive elements through a chamber of inert gas within the device, which ionizes the gas, allowing the device to easily detect radioactivity.

History of the Geiger Counter

This device was developed by German physicist Hans Geiger in 1912 while working with Ernest Rutherford, the physicist who won the 1908 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the concept that an atom contains a nucleus composed of even smaller particles. He, essentially, is the physicist who discovered there is an atomic nucleus when an atom is split. The two physicists worked together to develop a radiation measuring device to detect the alpha particle.

Years later, Geiger teamed up with one of his Ph.D. students, Walter Müller, to perfect the counter so that it could also detect other forms of radiation in addition to the alpha particle. The technology of this device, which was created back in the early 1900s, utilizes the same technology today, in the same way. In the late 1920s,  Müller received credit for his work with Geiger when he gave his name to the Geiger-Müller tube.

What is Radioactivity?

In order to better understand how Geiger counters work, understanding the process of radioactivity must come first.

According to the US Department of Energy, radioactivity is the releasing of energy from the decay of certain atoms and isotopes. Nuclei consist of protons and neutrons that are bound together in tiny bundles in the center of atoms. When nuclei are radioactive, they become unstable and decay. With this, they emit various energy particles (electrons, protons, photons, neutrons, alphas, and neutrinos). Some of these released particles are ionizing particles. Because these particles are ionized, they can pull electrons away from the molecules or atoms. Therefore, the level or amount of radioactivity that can be detected is dependent on the fraction of unstable nuclei and how often they decay.

This is when the Geiger Counter comes into effect for ionizing radiation detection.

How the Geiger Counter Works

How a Geiger Counter works is not as complex as the device itself looks. The Geiger Counter has two primary parts: a chamber filled with gas and an information monitor display. Once radiation enters the chamber filled with gas, the electrons are then pushed away from the gas atom, creating an ion pair. There is a thin, metal wire, typically made from tungsten, in the center of the tube. This wire is what attracts electrons, which then creates other ion pairs that send a current through the wire.

At this point in the Geiger Counter, the current goes to the information monitor display which shows the counts per minute of the number of ion pairs that are created every 60 seconds. The device will click every time an ion pair is created. The clicks you hear are an indicator of how much radiation is entering the Geiger Counter chamber.

There are several factors that can contribute to the fluctuation in counts per minute as well. Things like indoor ventilation, soil moisture, atmospheric conditions, and other factors. When using this device, it is important to remember that it is only meant to indicate when ion pairs are created, not the type of radiation detected or the amount of energy the ion pairs have.

Protection Against Radiation

We are exposed to radiation daily. Exposure to natural radiation comes from radioactive materials found in soil, water, and the air. Radon is a naturally occurring gas that is the main source of natural radiation exposure, at least from soil and rocks. This type of exposure is not life threatening nor does it pose a serious threat to your health.

We’re also exposed to synthetic sources of radiation. This type of exposure is largely due to certain industries we work in. Medical and dental offices, nuclear power plants, hospitals, air and space travel, manufacturing, and construction, and many more are all areas that can expose you to serious levels of radiation, which can be hazardous to your health.

Depending on the level of exposure and the length of time you have been exposed, you can experience health symptoms ranging from headaches and abnormal skin redness to tissue damage and various forms of cancer. Because of the health risks involved in radiation-exposed workplaces, the Geiger Counter is essential for not only protecting workers from radiation sources but also the public.