We had this practical the other day, where we were measuring the activity of a gamma ray emitter using a geiger counter. We had to measure the intensity of the radiation by comparing the activity with the distance of the sample from the geiger counter. Eg measure activity at 8cm from it and then at 30cm etc. Anyway, one of the questions that popped up was..
Why is the geiger counter (which was upright) having the side of it facing the source which is emitting the radiation. The bottom of the tube was where the radiation was absorbed, not the sides. I was thinking it was to prevent less background radiation coming through, but we did a background check before we started. So do you guys have any idea why the side of the geiger counter, which did not absorb radiation, was facing the sample rather than the bottom (which only had a few cm from it and the bench)?
Thanks in advance. Am giving out 10 points.
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