A Simple, Extremely Stable Single-Tube Liquid Scintillation System for Radiocarbon Dating

Bibliographic Data

ID9244356
AuthorsPall Theodórsson
Year2005
Volume47
Issue1
Pages89-97
Publication date2005-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRadiocarbon (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s003382220005222x
OpenAlexW2232275989
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited8

This paper describes a simple and compact liquid scintillation radiocarbon dating system, ICELS, and demonstrates its long-term stability and reproducibility to a precision level rarely presented before, better than 0.04% (3 14 C yr). Inexpensive systems of this kind may, in the future, help to meet increasing demand for high precision (±16 to ±20 14 C yr) and strict quality control. ICELS comprises a compact detector unit, where a 3-mL dome-shaped vial, with an optimal light reflector, sits on the top of a vertical 30-mm photomultiplier tube. Sample changing is manual. The high voltage is set at the balance point for each sample, securing maximal counting stability. The quench correction method used (spectrum restoration) corrects with 0.04% precision for all parameters that can normally shift the 14 C spectrum. For 3 mL of benzene at 71% 14 C counting efficiency (recent carbon 23 cpm), the background is 1.72 cpm behind a 5-cm-thick shield of lead (27 kg) and 1.53 cpm behind 10 cm of lead. The background count rate corrected for atmospheric pressure variations was completely stable over 47- and 57-d testing periods for the 2 systems

Chromatography · Composite material · Detector · Liquid scintillation counting · Optics · Photomultiplier · Physics · Radiocarbon dating · Radiochemistry · Scintillation · Scintillation counter · Scintillator · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Materials Science · Nuclear Physics and Applications · Geology

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