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Determination of Radon by Liquid Scintillation α/β Particle Spectrometry: Towards the Resolution of a 14C Dating Problem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Henry Polach  and
Lauri Kaihola
Henry Polach
Affiliation:
Australian National University, GPO Box 4, Canberra 2601, Australia
Lauri Kaihola
Affiliation:
Wallac Oy, PO Box 10, 20101 Turku 10, Finland
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Abstract

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Traces of uranium and radium within the 14C sample generate radon (Rn) which gets occluded during the benzene synthesis, thus generating false (extra) counts within the 14C counting window. This, if undetected, gives rise to erroneous 14C age determinations. The application of simultaneous α and β liquid scintillation spectrometry will enable a mathematical evaluation of the 14C signal unaffected by α and β particle emissions from radon decay daughters.

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , 1988 , pp. 19 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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