Alexander Gloger

NASA/High Altitude Ballooning

February 11, 2017

Geiger Counter Improvised Experiment

Background

Electromagnetic radiation exists in many forms, but the most harmful to life on Earth is
Ionizing. Ionizing radiation exists in three categories: alpha, beta and gamma rays.
Alpha is the least penetrable and least of peoples worries. Beta however can penetrate
some substances but not substances as dense as aluminum. Finally, gamma particles are
highly penetrable and can penetrate anything not denser than lead (1). Furthermore,
they can be detected by using a Geiger counter.

Per the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, a Geiger counter is an

instrument that contains within it a canister of gas of either Hydrogen or Argon that
when radiation passes through, it ionizes the gas, allowing a current of electricity to go
through and the device to set off an indication of ionizing energy present within the
area (2).

Ionizing radiation that has the potential to cause biological damage is typically
measured in Sieverts (Sv). To put things into perspective, 500 milisieverts (mSv) or 0.5
sieverts (Sv) is enough to cause a person to feel sick or ill from the exposure to
radiation. Luckily, this Geiger counter measures radiation in an acute sensory of
microsieverts (Sv) or 1/1,000,000 of a Sievert (the Greek letter , pronounced me-you,
is the symbol for the prefix unit of micro) (3).

Objective

By using a Geiger Counter Kit from MightyOhm, radiation nearby Lake Michigan was
recorded. After walking around Montrose Beach in Chicago, Illinois, readings of the
radiation amount were collected at one of Chicagos most popular recreational areas.
Lack of time and electricity was a problem so the data collected was restricted to three
minutes plus the amount of land scaled was also restricted in result.

Data

The Geiger Counter uses a system called GtkTerm for Raspberry Pi. The data you see
below is a replication of the data collected in the experiment.
Interpreting the Data:

- Each integer (x) in a single line of reading, CPS, X, CPM, is the detection an ionizing
radiation particle or ray conducting the current of electricity through the gas
canister.
- Because of the simplicity of the font, is replaced with u. Every uSv/hr is really
Sv/hr.
- CPS stands for counts per second

Typical data taken directly from the Raspberry Pi looks like:

CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW

CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 0, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 1, CPM, 1, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 1, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW
CPS, 0, CPM, 1, uSv/hr, 0.00, SLOW

Because it was taken from GtkTerm. In the interest of time and interpretation, it has
been fitted into this convenient table:

Time (Seconds) Total Counts in Iteration Projected Sv/hr rating

(Sv)
0 - 30 2
30 - 60 2
60 - 90 3
90 - 120 1
120 - 150 2
150 - 180 1
TOTAL 11 2200 Sv/hr

To get a projection of how many milisieverts are present in the area, some math is
involved to extrapolate this figure.

Since three minutes of data was used in this entire process, we divide an hour (60
minutes by 3 minutes to get:

60 / 3 = 20
Now that weve established that there are 20 3-minute intervals within an hour, we can
multiply our data gathered in our readings by this factor.
20 (intervals of 3 minutes in one hour) * 11 Sv (collected in only three minutes of data)
= 220 Sv/hr.

We reach an extrapolated projection of 220 Sv/hr present on the beach, assuming

normal conditions are remaining when we finally return.
Conclusion

In just three minutes of walking, our Geiger counter came across 11 Sv of radiation

Although it may look like a lot of radiation keep in mind that this measurement is in the
units of millionths of a Sievert. Furthermore, time and resources restrictions have
caused only a fraction of Montrose beach to be scaled whereas there may be places with
higher or lower radiation levels that were not covered in this experiment.

Future Work

Geiger counters are used to detect radiation whether in travel to places suffering
catastrophes like the Chernobyl or Fukushima nuclear disasters or testing the dosage of
radiation emitted by objects like old military compasses. Although the MightyOhm
Geiger counter is amateur compared to the industrial grade Geiger counters that are
used by radiologists and nuclear engineers, it has provided the incentive to get familiar
with how they work and measure radiation. Furthermore, this experiment, although
restricted in time and resources, proved that radiation exists everywhere, not just
restricted to nuclear power plants or medical clinics.

Works Cited
1. What Is Radiation? What Is Radiation - WNA, World Nuclear Association,
www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/what-is-radiation.aspx.
2. Introduction to Geiger Counters. Introduction to a Geiger Counter,
www.cpp.edu/~pbsiegel/bio431/texnotes/chapter4.pdf.
3. Chandler, David L. Explained: Rad, Rem, Sieverts, Becquerels.Explained: Rad,
Rem, Sieverts, Becquerels A Guide to Terminology about Radiation Exposure, MIT
News, 28 Mar. 2011, news.mit.edu/2011/explained-radioactivity-0328.