10: Nuclear Detectors

Example number 1, Page number 322

In [2]:
#importing modules
import math
from __future__ import division

#Variable declaration
e=1.6*10**-19;      #charge(coulomb)
n=10;               #number of particles
E=4*10**6;          #energy of alpha particle(eV)
E1=35;              #energy of 1 ion pair(eV)

#Calculation
N=E*n/E1;             #number of ion pairs
q=N*e;                #current produced(amp)

#Result
print "current produced is",round(q*10**13,3),"*10**-13 amp"

current produced is 1.829 *10**-13 amp

Example number 2, Page number 322

In [5]:
#importing modules
import math
from __future__ import division

#Variable declaration
v=4;                #voltage sensitivity(div/volt)
d=0.8;              #number of divisions
C=0.5*10**-12;      #capacitance(F)
e=1.6*10**-19;      #charge(coulomb)
E1=35;              #energy of 1 ion pair(eV)

#Calculation
V=d/v;              #voltage(V)
q=C*V;              #current(C)
n=q/e;              #number of ion pairs required
E=n*E1/10**6;       #energy of alpha-particles(MeV)

#Result
print "number of ion pairs required is",n/10**5,"*10**5"
print "energy of alpha-particles is",E,"MeV"

number of ion pairs required is 6.25 *10**5
energy of alpha-particles is 21.875 MeV

Example number 3, Page number 323

In [7]:
#importing modules
import math
from __future__ import division

#Variable declaration
V=1000;              #voltage(V)
r=0.0001;            #radius(m)
b=2*10**-2;          #diameter(m)
a=10**-4;
n=10**9;             #number of counts

#Calculation
Emax=V/(r*math.log(b/a));    #maximum radial field(volts/meter)
N=n/(50*30*60*3000);         #counter will last for(years)

#Result
print "maximum radial field is",round(Emax/10**6,2),"*10**6 volts/meter"
print "counter will last for",round(N,1),"years"

maximum radial field is 1.89 *10**6 volts/meter
counter will last for 3.7 years

Example number 4, Page number 324

In [9]:
#importing modules
import math
from __future__ import division

#Variable declaration
r=2;               #radius(m)
B=2.5;             #flux density(Wb/m**2)
q=1.6*10**-19;     #charge(coulomb)
c=3*10**8;         #velocity of light(m/sec)

#Calculation
E=B*q*r*c*10**-6/q;     #energy of the particle(MeV)

#Result
print "energy of the particle is",int(E),"MeV"

energy of the particle is 1500 MeV

Example number 5, Page number 325

In [10]:
#importing modules
import math
from __future__ import division

#Variable declaration
cr=600;            #counting rate(counts/minute)
e=10**7;           #number of electrons per discharge
q=1.6*10**-19;     #charge(coulomb)
t=60;              #number of seconds

#Calculation
n=cr*e;            #number of electrons in 1 minute
q=n*q/t;           #average current in the circuit(A)

#Result
print "average current in the circuit is",q,"A"

average current in the circuit is 1.6e-11 A