Oeschger counter

A multi-wire counter was used by Libby to measure the radiocarbon content in archeological artifacts. The first sample he dated was a piece of acacia wood from furniture in Pharaoh Zoser s tomb at Saqqara, Egypt. About 20 g were used, and the date determined was 2,030 350 years BC. The technique developed rapidly, and only 10 mg of the same sample were dated in 1992 in the new National Ocean Sciences Accelerator mass spectrometry facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and gave an age of 4,115 34 years, i.e., within one cr error of the first (Libby) analysis. The Oeschger Counter is another indispensable tool on... 

The counting properties of a membrane proportional counter similar to the one designed by Oeschger have been detailed. The system is reliable for measuring low levels of radioactivity in gas samples at high pressures. No barometric fluctuations in the background have been observed during the six years of continuous use. The detector is simple to construct and maintain. 

---