We use cookies and those of third party providers to deliver the best possible web experience and to compile statistics.Find free resources for STEM learning at home   > All rights reserved. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. Overall, how would you rate the quality of this project?What is your enthusiasm for science after doing your project?Compared to a typical science class, please tell us how much you learned doing this project. 24. So why would I build an ion chamber instead of a Geiger counter?Just below this you will find the step by step instructions on how to make this simple and cheap but very effective radiation detector (ion chamber). After collecting the daughters for about an hour, the radiation being emitted from the cloth due to the further decay of the collected radioactive isotopes can be measured with the ionization chamber.When completed, your homemade radiation detector and collector will enable you to measure the relative concentrations of radon gas in various locations and test the effectiveness of various methods of reducing the danger posed by radon daughters, a process called Please note this page within the EPA website for a map of radon levels in the U.S.: This site has additional information and figures about the radon collector and ionization chamber. You will also build a radiation collector to capture radon Are you planning to do a project from Science Buddies?Come back and tell us about your project using the “I Did This Project” link for the project you choose.You’ll find a link to “I Did This Project” on every project on the Science Buddies website so don’t forget to share your story!The experimental procedure is based on material from Charles Wenzel's website (see the Bibliography), and is used with his permission.In this electronics science project, you will build and test a device that is designed to detect radon, a Radioactivity is a random process—there is no way to know which atom in a mixture is going to decay. Do it yourself radon test kits are a great way to test your home or office for radon gas. And again, once everything is in place you could be sealed with silicone to make it airtight.The advantage to Lexan is that it’s clear and you are able to see if there is ever water in your sump hole.The inline exhaust fan is what will actually draw the radon up from your sump hole and push it outdoors.Since it will be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it’s important to consider these two criteria when purchasing your fan:Don’t worry too much about the duct size, as long as it’s larger than 3 inches. This depends specifically on the topography of the area. Anyone who has sealed with silicone before knows that it’s not permanent, but it’s a pain in the neck to remove the silicone bead that you created.So the lesson here is to make sure that you have a high-quality some pump, that is positioned well in the hole, before you seal the cover on. The MPSW45A has the same pinout as the MPSA64 (EBC as the transistor faces you)Step 9) Solder the emitter of one MPSW45A to the 2.2K resistors legs that are soldered together, then solder the collector leg to the 10K resistor leg, then repeat for the other MPS45W45A on the other half of the circuit.Step 10) Clip the excess leads from the collector and emitters of the MPSW45A and 10K resistor, make sure to leave the base lead longStep 11) Cut about 4 inches of two wires and strip the ends. Basements in some parts of the country might require the meter be switched to a less-sensitive range. If you are seeing an issue where the meter seems to jump around (like 50 or more Milli-Volts) even if you are three feet away, try moving farther away and see if the unit settles down, if it does then static is probably the cause. Radon. De-solder the center connection on the zero pot and leave it hanging in the air not touching anything.Things I have noted about the chamber. The radiation detector is based on a simple ionization chamber. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed. If you have any comments (positive or negative) related to purchases you've made for science projects from recommendations on our site, please let us know.