Introduction to scintillators

This video looks at scintillators, materials that emit light when exposed to ionizing radiation. We expose a variety of common (and not-so-common) scintillators to an intense Cs-137 source and look at the light that comes out. Scintillators can be characterized in many ways, but some of the most important properties include light intensity, spectrum (or color), and time response. Different properties are important for different applications. A few essential applications are discussed. Scintillators are truly remarkable and remain an important research frontier in nuclear engineering.

What's your favorite scintillator? Do you have questions or want to share something additional? Feel free to engage in the comments.

For more great nuclear technical videos from the NE faculty at the University of New Mexico, please visit my colleague Chris Perfetti here:    / @nuclearengineeringlectures  

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