The Geiger-Mueller (GM) detector is a popular choice for a general study of laboratory radioactive materials. It is capable of detecting alpha, beta and gamma radiation. GM detectors are the most common type of radiation detector, also known as a Geiger counter. End-window Geiger counters are still used as a general-purpose portable radioactive contamination measurement and detection instrument, due to their relatively low cost, robustness and relatively high detection efficiency; particularly with high-energy β particles.
An RIID is a radiation detector with the ability to analyze the energy spectrum of radiation, in order to identify the specific radioactive material (radionuclide) that emits the radiation. Scintillation detectors are another type of detector used in radiation detection instruments. There are also hybrid instruments that have a separate probe for particle detection and a gamma detection tube inside the electronic module. A teletector is a particular meter specifically designed to detect gamma and x-ray radiation.
A Geiger counter (also known as a Geiger-Müller counter) is an electronic instrument used to detect and measure ionizing radiation. It detects ionizing radiation, such as alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays, using the ionization effect produced in a Geiger-Müller tube. The topographic meter is a portable radiation detector, which typically measures the amount of radiation present and provides this information on a numerical display in units of counts per minute, counts per second, or microroentgen (µR) or microrem (µrem) per hour. The article on the Geiger-Müller tube contains a more detailed description of the techniques used to detect photon radiation. This article provides an overview of the different types of devices used for detecting radiation, their features and applications.
