Discharge Spread in Geiger Counters. I. With Self-Quenching Gases

Abstract

Despite the work of Korff, Stever, and others, many aspects of Geiger counter behavior are as yet unexplained. In particular, the extent to which the photons produced in the counter discharge are of importance, and the manner in which they are absorbed in the counter gas, seem to have been insufficiently studied. The experiments described here were made with single wire, divided cathode, counters of various types. The results show that photon absorption seems to be less complete than is often thought, but that when such absorption is fairly small, it may be almost entirely manifest as a cathode, not a gas, effect, as shown by experiments with a new type of divided cathode counter in which the cathode effect is virtually eliminated.