Radiation monitoring device
AssigneeJP Laboratories, Inc.
InventorGordhanbhai Patel
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a device for monitoring alpha particles and material emitting alpha particles such as radon and its daughters. The device can also be used for monitoring other high energy particles such as cosmic rays, nuclear fission fragments, nucleon ions, and neutrons having energy between 0.1 and 200 MeV. In the operation of the invention, the high energy particles pass through and degrade tracks in a track registering material placed on a carrier substrate. These tracks are enlarged with a developing agent which etches the initial tracks. The enlarged tracks are then visualized by means of a color change in the immediate vicinity of these tracks.
Claims40
A composite developable device for monitoring the presence of high energy radiation particles comprising:
- (a) at least one layer of track registering material capable of being penetrated by said particles to form tracks therein,
- (b) at least one indicator layer comprising a polymeric dispersion layer, having indicator dispersed therein, said indicator being capable of changing color in the presence of a solution of a water soluble developing agent in a hydroxylic solvent, said agent being selected from the group consisting of strong acids, strong bases, reducing agents and oxidizing agents, wherein one or more members of said group are also capable of etching the penetrated tracks in said track registering material, and
- (c) a carrier substrate wherein the indicator layer is coated on one side thereof on to said track registering material and on the other side thereof contacted by said carrier substrate.
A method of monitoring the presence of high energy radiation particles which comprises the sequential steps of:
- (a) exposing a composite developable device to an environment suspected of containing such particle radiation, for a predetermined period of time, said device comprising:
- (i) at least one layer of track registering material capable of being penetrated by said particles to form tracks therein;
- (ii) a carrier substrate,
- (iii) an indicator layer coated on one side thereof on to said track registering material and on the other side thereof contacted by said carrier substrate, said indicator layer comprising a polymeric dispersion layer,
- (b) developing the latent image in said device by immersing said device in a hydroxylic solution of a developing agent selected from the group consisting of strong acids, strong bases, reducing agents and oxidising agents, wherein one or more members of said group are also capable of etching the penetrated paths in said track registering material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.