An industrial thickness gauge counts gamma-ray pulses in

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Scientific Practice & Experimental Methods · Uncertainty in measurement · Uncertainty in measurement

Measurement and Method, Ch Counting experiments: Poisson statistics and the root-n rule

Problem

An industrial thickness gauge counts n=200 000n = 200\,000 gamma-ray pulses in t=100 st = 100\ \mathrm{s}. The counter has a dead time τd=250 μs\tau_{\rm d} = 250\ \mathrm{\mu s}. ((a)) Find the recorded rate mm. ((b)) Apply the dead-time correction R=m/(1−mτd)R = m/(1-m\tau_{\rm d}) to get the true rate, and comment on the size of the effect.

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