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PUBLICATIONS

Early Electroscopes at the National Bureau of Standards

Published

Author(s)

Bert Coursey, Brian E. Zimmerman, Michael G. Mitch, Paul Frame

Abstract

This report describes the use of five electroscopes used as national standards for radioactivity for the United States during the early 20th century. This set of instruments were used for the calibration of thousands of radium-226 sources used in medical therapy in the US from 1913 to 1989. The provenance of these instruments is recorded here to aid historians and curators in preservation of knowledge and artifacts of early radioactivity measurements in the United States.
Citation
Special Publication (NIST SP) - 1316
Report Number
1316
NIST Pub Series
Special Publication (NIST SP)
Pub Type
NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1316
Local Download

Keywords

Beta particle, electroscope, emanation, gamma rays, museum collections, radium, radon.
Radiation

Citation

Coursey, B. , Zimmerman, B. , Mitch, M. and Frame, P. (2024), Early Electroscopes at the National Bureau of Standards, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1316, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957894 (Accessed October 14, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created May 17, 2024
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