Los Alamos portable beta-ray spectrometer

The integration of a beta ray detector to multichannel analyzer and computer has resulted in a portable spectrometer for studying beta rays in the field. The detector is a 5 cm diameter by 2 cm thick plastic scintillator. Other detectors can easily be integrated into the package. The integral instrument package is 15 cm wide by 15 cm high by 25 cm long and weighs less than 10 pounds. Internal rechargeable batteries for 8 hours of field operation are included. The instrument contains a detector, an amplifier, a multichannel analyzer, and a liquid crystal display (LCD). A microprocessor controls all the functions of the instrument and is programmed to display all necessary information and 128 channel spectra on the LCD.