Determination of 218Po+ ionic neutralization rates in gases

An instrument and methodology are described for the measurement of 218Po+ ions immersed in carrier gases in hydrostatic equilibrium. This electrostatic precipitation device has a 7.5-l volume and an absolute detection efficiency of 10.2%. An improved analytical method is developed to determine neutralization rates over wide ranges of both 222Rn concentrations (100 to 50 000 Bq/m3) and neutralization rates (0.05 to 1 s-1). Applications to the radon-in-argon and radon-in-air cases are presented, and appropriate intercomparisons involving previous results are discussed. ((orig.))