Radiation Safety Practice Exam

Which type of radiation is NOT typically measured by scintillation counters?

1. Alpha particles

2. Beta particles

3. Gamma rays

4. X-rays

The correct answer is: Gamma rays

Scintillation counters are devices used to detect and measure ionizing radiation, primarily by observing the light (scintillation) produced when radiation interacts with a scintillating material. These devices are very effective at measuring alpha particles, beta particles, and X-rays. While scintillation counters can measure gamma rays, they are not typically optimized for high-energy gamma radiation detection compared to other types of detectors, such as sodium iodide detectors. For gamma rays, more sophisticated detection techniques are often used to enhance efficiency and reduce background noise. However, scintillation counters can still detect gamma radiation to some extent. In contrast, alpha and beta particles can produce significant scintillation light and are thus well-suited for detection with scintillation counters. X-rays can also generate scintillations effectively because they share energy levels that can interact with the scintillation crystals. Therefore, it is more accurate to say that scintillation counters are not specifically tailored for measuring gamma rays efficiently, which makes the selection of gamma rays as not typically measured by these counters reasonable.