Measurement of 21884Po+ neutralization rates in gases

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Abstract

A system is described wherein the electrostatic precipitation method is applied to 84218Po+ ions contained in carrier gases in hydrostatic equilibrium. The operative region of the gas is ≈4.7 1 in volume and is permeated by a static electric field which is reasonably uniform. This region is physically remote from the confining walls of the chamber, and so plateout-related effects are largely reduced in this system. Systematic studies pertinent to a reliable and efficient method of determining neutralization rates for 84218Po+ ions in gases are developed. Neutralization rates are then deduced from measurements of collection efficiency as a function of electric field strength, the observable rates being in the 0.05–1.0 s−1 range. Illustrative results obtained via this method are presented and compared with those obtained in recent hydrodynamic diffusion chamber measurements, and potential applications involving radon-in-air concentration measurements are also discussed.

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