Abstract
IT is well known that in a Geiger discharge some of the avalanche photons, presumably argon resonance photons1, are strongly absorbed in the quenching gas and are responsible for the discharge propagation in a narrow zone around the anode2. On the other hand photons of greater wave-length are also produced; these can release photo-electrons out of the cathode with subsequent production of secondary avalanches3,4. Some authors ascribe a dominant role in the discharge-spreading mechanism to the latter photons. In this assumption the velocity of discharge propagation would be determined by the photo-electric effect at the cathode and not by the photo-ionization of the gas near the anode, as is usually admitted. This contradicts the following experiment.
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References
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Mortier, P., and Roose, J., Proc. Phys. Soc., B, 67, 161 (1954).
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MORTIER, P., DEMUYNCK, J. & SEGAERT, O. Role of Photons in Argon–Alcohol Counters. Nature 181, 1327–1328 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811327b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811327b0
