Radon monitor wins Healthy House Award
The winning entry was a system for measuring radon gas in homes. The system, called E-Perm and manufactured by Rad-Elec, Inc. of Germantown, MD, uses a replaceable electret detector, rather than charcoal, to sense the decay of radon. The electret is a Teflon disk about 1.5 inches in diameter that is seated in a canister 3 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches high. In the absence of any outside influences, the electret maintains a constant voltage, making it a type of electrostatic battery. After entering the canister, radon gas decays, giving off high-energy positive ions called alpha particles. The alpha particles dissipate their energy within a couple of centimeters of air and produce electrons as they knock into air molecules. The E-Perm system measures the presence of these electrons as a changes in the voltage potential across the electret.
- OSTI ID:
- 6701521
- Journal Information:
- Home Energy; (USA), Vol. 6:2; ISSN 0896-9442
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
AIR POLLUTION MONITORS
PERFORMANCE
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
RADON 222
ALPHA PARTICLES
EMISSION
AIR POLLUTION
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHARGED PARTICLES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORS
NUCLEI
POLLUTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON ISOTOPES
540130* - Environment
Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)