The Main Applications For Liquid Scintillation Counters

A liquid scintillation counter is a standard laboratory method for measuring radiation

from beta emitting nuclides through the use of transparent materials. It is a sophisticated laboratory counting system capable of turning the kinetic energy of nuclear emission into light to determine the amount of radiation present in an area. Although these instruments do sophisticated counting they are actually quite inexpensive making them affordable for a number of uses.

How Scintillation Counters Work

These counters work by using what is called a cocktail, a clear mixture containing a solvent emulsifier, and a flur, into which you place a particle. This liquid then produces light flashes when it absorbs the energy of the particles radioactive decay. These light flashes are then quantified.

Although these products have been used in areas where national security may be at risk such as airports and hand held counters have been used at crime and major accidents scenes to detect the amount of radiation present. These counters are used in a number of ways to study plants, animals, and even life and civilization. Here are just a few ways that these fields use liquid scintillation counters.

Amount of radiation in an area

Every rock and particle of soil has some radiation present in it. Plants absorb some of this radiation from the soil, and animals who then eat the plants also absorb radiation from the plants. Liquid scintillation counters can be used to determine just how much radiation may be present in a given area and if this radiation is in sufficient amounts to cause risk to the plant and wildlife in the area.

Used to date organic material

These counters can also be used to date organic material. They are often used by archeologists and paleontologist in the course of their work. By using a liquid scintillation counter to determine the age of the organic material by the amount of radiation present helps an archeologist to gain invaluable data that helps determine how long ago a civilization existed. Because of the accuracy of these instruments and the reliability of their data they are able to not only determined how long ago certain animals and plants lived but can also determined how old a forest may be, or even a mountain.

For example, suppose a road was being built through a mountain and when part of the mountain was removed, organic matter was found that dated back 2000 years. This will tell scientists that part of the mountain was older than the organic matter that was found, and the part of the mountain was formed after the organic matter was deposited. This would allow scientists to come up with some theories on how this mountain range was formed.

Modern Medicine

Liquid Scintillations counters are also used in modern medicine as well. These counters help doctors and scientists diagnosis many modern diseases. Though inexpensive, these counters allow for the average human being to live healthier and safer lives than ever before. They also allow scientists to understand more about ancient plant, animal and even human life that occurred centuries ago.

by: Andrew Long

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