proportional counter
- noun
- /prəˈpɔrʃənl ˈkaʊntər/
- Specialized
:
contador proporcional
- The research team used a proportional counter to detect low levels of radiation during their experiments.
Examples
-
The 71Ge radioactivity will be measured in small proportional counters similar to those developed for the 37Cl experiment.
Academic text (1990) -
The detectors were banks of proportional counters that combined to achieve about 50 times the sensitivity of the Uhuru sensors.
Academic text (1991) -
These started from multiwire proportional counters based on designs borrowed from high-energy physics and have proceeded through phosphor imaging plates and on to charge-coupled device detectors, which are just becoming available.
Academic text (1995) -
In the lab, we rely on a proportional counter to measure the number of ions produced by the radiation source.
-
A proportional counter can accurately quantify the ionizing radiation by providing an electrical output proportional to the ion counts.
Synonyms
A tube that detects radiation and gives an electrical signal showing how strong the radiation is
A device that measures radiation by detecting tiny charged particles in a gas tube
A device that detects radiation by counting particles in a tube filled with gas
How Sensitive
- Specialized
1
9.0
- Specialized
- Specialized
7
4.8
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase literally combines 'proportional' (having consistent change) with 'counter' (a device or register that counts), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a counting/measuring device whose output is proportional. However, the specific technical application (a detector for ionizing radiation) and the precise nature of the proportionality are domain-specific and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
Proportional counter comes from how the device works: counter because it 'counts' the particles that hit it, and proportional because the electric signal grows in proportion to that number. So the name helps you remember that the device not only detects radiation but gives a signal that 'matches' how much it found.