Some techniques in the assay of tritium

Abstract

A method of estimating tritium in infinitely thick solid samples in a windowless flow-type counter is described. In this apparatus the observed count rates of tritium-labeled compounds are directly proportional to their specific activities, provided that the samples are rendered electrical conductors by first mixing them with graphite. The ratio between the observed count rate and the specific activity of the compound is not significantly affected by the presence of a silver atom in the molecule. Some modifications to the counting technique of White et al. (1950), in which tritium is assayed as methane gas, are described. The relative values of gas-counting and solid-counting techniques for tritium are discussed.