The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 01, 2000
Stanley Kronenberg, Skillman, NJ (US);
George J. Brucker, West Long Branch, NJ (US);
Steven A. Horne, Manasquan, NJ (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A low cost and simple technique for measurement of radioactive contaminants in the air, soil, or in buildings is provided. The alpha, beta gamma radiation monitor comprises a thin window and two more removable radiation windows on top of a pancake-shaped conductive plastic chamber, with a microscope and a carbon fiber electrometer within the chamber protruding through the chamber's side wall, and the microscope and electrometer opposing each other. Within the chamber the microscope is optically focused on the electrometer fiber. Three radiation windows are provided: one admits alpha particles, beta particles and gamma radiation to the chamber, another admits beta particles and gamma radiation, and a third one admits only gamma radiation. Thus one can measure or observe alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, beta and gamma radiation, or only gamma radiation. The present invention's configuration allows the concentration of each type of radiation to be independently determined. The radiation that penetrates one of the radiation windows generates an ionization charge within the chamber that causes a carbon fiber image to move along a scale within the microscope as a function of time to produce the desired reading. In the case of airborne alpha emitting contaminants either the concentration of alpha particles or the total alpha energy of the emission can be measured.