help please .You have an unknown radioactive preparations. How can you most easily determine if there is alpha, betta or gamma radiation? help please .You have an unknown radioactive preparations. How can you most easily determine if there is alpha, betta or gamma radiation? @Physics

Question

jamesj · Answer

I answered this for you this morning.  But perhaps TT has other ideas.

anonymous · Answer

i dont think that is the correct answer , just wanted to check other answers

turingtest · Answer

I was going to talk about the energies in proportion to their masses, but I got cut off. 
Like a high energy very low mass (undetectable) would be a Gamma ray, A lower energy low mass particle would be the Beta radiation.
The highest mass particle would be the Alpha particle.

turingtest · Answer

This is, of course, because Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation and have no mass. 

Beta particles are electrons and have a negative charge, so you could also detect for that very easily. 

Similarly Alpha particles are positively charged because they are protons, so that can also be measured along with its ,mass.

Gamma:High energy, no charge, no mass
Alpha:High mass, positive charge
Beta:Low mass, negative charge, lower energy.

take your pick of what's easiest.

turingtest · Answer

Sorry for the poor explanation, 
I have to go.

jamesj · Answer

Oh, actually, this suggests another idea.  arrange the compound and the Geiger counter on the axis axis.  Run a strong electric field in the positive, negative x-directions and perpendicular to the x-direction, the y-axis.  The three different types of radiation will behave differently in that field.

jamesj · Answer

You can do something similar with a magnetic field, of course.  But with the electric field, it's more immediately obvious

anonymous · Answer

yeah i guess thats right thanks for the help :)