Proportional Counter vs GM Counter
Proportional counter and GM counters are devices to detect and quantify radiations. The proportional counter is able to detect the energy of incident radiation and produce an output proportional to the intensity of the radiation. A GM counter detects ionizing radiation such as alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays using the ionization effect produced in a Geiger–Müller tube. Both the instruments can quantify the intensity of radiation and have immense application in research, medicine and nuclear industry.
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The present post discusses the differences between a Proportional counter and a GM counter with a comparison table.
Difference between Proportional Counter and GM Counter
Sl. No. Proportional Counter GM Counter 
1 Proportional counter operate in linear mode. GM counter operate in avalanche mode. 2 The energy pulse measured by the detector is proportional to the energy of the radioactive particle. The energy pulse measured by the detector is NOT proportional to the energy of the radioactive particle. 3 The average current flow in the detector is a function of both the activity (curies) and the energy (kEv) of the source. The average current flow in the detector is a function of only the activity (curies) of the source. 4 This detector is better at measuring the dose rate of the source. This detector is better at measuring the activity of the source 5 The voltage pule is low. The voltage pulse is very high. 6 Requires pulse voltage amplification. It does not require pulse voltage amplification. 7 The pulse height is proportional to the energy of the incident ionizing radiation. The pulse height is independent of the energy of the incident particles. 8 Can detect low energy radiations Cannot detect lower energy radiations. 9 Cannot detect uncharged particles such as neutrons. Can detect uncharged particles. 10 Resolving power of the proportional counter is high. Resolving power of GM counter is low.
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Plz tell me the difference of ionisation chamber and gm counter.
What is difference between gm counter and ionization chamber. What is difference between proportional chamber and ionization chamber. What is difference between scintillation counter and ionization chamber.