On the Life of Self-Quenching Counters

Abstract

A Geiger-Müller counter filled with argon and ethyl acetate was connected to a mass spectrometer, and spectra were obtained after predetermined numbers of counts. Results showed that factors influencing the life of the counter were the disappearance of the quenching vapor and the formation of non-quenching vapors. An argon-methane counter, studied by the same method, showed that contamination of the insides of the counter, by the dissociation products, limited its life. This process occurred before any appreciable fraction of the methane was consumed.