Radioactivity Counter
This is a real working radioactivity counter. You only need a BLACK TAPE to cover the lenses !!
Disclaimer: The type of radiation picked up by the camera can be dangerous/detrimental to the user's health as well as cause damage to the device.
Its NOT a JOKE! The App is using the camera sensor to detect radiation, like a geiger mueller counter, of course with a smaller area. We tested several mobile phones at the Helmholtz research facility in Munich, using a professional radiation device in the range of 2-10 µGy/h till 1-10 Gy/h (CS137 and CO60). The CMOS sensors can detect primary gamma radiation and some higher beta radiation (depends on the shieldings in the mobile phone). Typically not going into saturation as most GM tubes. See FAQ on our homepage for what you can measure and how.PLEASE SEND US FEEDBACK via EMAIL !! We add new devices in short intervals.
Attention: the tape must shield the light completely. Please check with a light source !On our homepage you find several measurement result for different devices we tested so far. Some are excellent, some not that sensitive. Feel free to use our table to assign radiation values to our counter measurements when you have the same device. The real values might differ as sensors can change. There we need your help and the help of the manufactures for a future calibration service.You can use the contact button in the help menu to provide us with feedback and please use it.
If you need any help, PLEASE send us an email. We have cannot answer the comment section below, so please ask us first on measurment problems. We help as fast as possible. Please contact us on any problems you have with this application! Look at our videos, more are comming soon. Attention: The counts per minute (CPM) for the background noise should be low (increase the noise setting if not). This is camera noise not radiation noise basically. If the radiation increases then also counts from the radiation adds to the CPM values (see our tables for the sensitivity). If you have a phone with 200 CPM for 100 uGy/h then the background noise produces for 100 nGy/h only 0.1 CPM. That means in 10 minutes ONE counts in 100 minute TEN counts adding to the CPM0 (noise of sensor). So you need a LONG time to measure for low radiation values on this device. Attention: AM241 (smoke detectors) only emit ALPHA rays, they get stuck in the plastic of the phones. H3 (tritium
- watches etc) are beta emitters with 45 keV. They also get stuck quickly, mainly already in the watches. K40 (KCL for example contains 16 Bq/g) are beta emitters with small amount of gamma (due to positron collisions)
- you need also a long integration time to measure them. Same for TH rods (2% Thorium) mainly alpha rays, then beta and some gamma. Very small diameter ! You need a large area to detect them (best GM with mica windows). The CMOS sensor of the camera only has 2mmx2mm.Good objects are TH lenses (up to 30% TH232), pitchblend (gamma of decay products) and CS137 for checking food which might be contaminated (if larger 1 uSv/h). Don't experiment with radiation sources !!!
Features:
* saving raw counter values in 3 different noise levels
* saving temperature data
* saving location (optional)
* saving settings data
* export by email (CSV) or file, CSV / HTML
* export of mean values in Counts + standarddeviation
* unit converter (Sievert, Gray, Rem...)
We just released a comprehensive help on our homepage -
- Important you NOISE value should be similar as in our tables, if it is too high check the tape to cover the lense
- use multiple tapes if necessary and start calibration again !!! Please before writting a bad one star comment write us we will help you very quickly PLEASE !!!more videos on our homepage
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instruction and help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJcOq5sLxPosome more:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsG6JsMAJ_Q
Category : Tools
Reviews (29)
I have Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and I needs to be a way to change it to the rear camera because the front camera keeps picking up light from the screen, for example in the notification tab gets pulled down I've tried everything for foil, duct tape foil and duct tape. Electrical tape as well but everything still lets light in
Very good radioactivity detector. Good for detecting if there's any radiation around. I have tried it with real radiation sources and it showed up.
so i had a high school team test this against some of the cheaper commercial detectors and this actually held its own so for the price, i say it is well worth it
Did not work, or at least very poorly on OnePlus 6T. I used a 100 kBq (3 uCi) 241Am source directly against Al foil covered lens, without any noticable increase in count rate.
I will update once i rebuy this on one of my older phones. I appreciate the notificatopn saying it wouldnt work but an update should be in the works to resolve this.
Does not work. Tested on uranium glass and the numbers didn't change around a truly radioactive piece
Was an excellent app, but without updates, it does not work with newer phones, hope it changes soon.
Giving it a 2 because yes it could be handy but don't bother try using it newer phones as you'll get incorrect data.
The most brilliant and elegant app concept I've ever sceen
This app is great it really works I've tested it against a Geiger Counter the readings were accurate love it!!!
It always tells me canmot obtain the camera. please fix.
Samsung s10+ does not work. Worked ok for older samsung
Does not work on Samsung A70.. on my older A7 worked fine.
Not working on S9+
Excellent app However I need to install 0n replacement phone
Didn't work on my newer version of android
Compares well against Professional Geiger Counter. Great for the minmal cost.
What you think about - add some fluorescent plastic beetwen camera lens and metal cover foil? Maybe some coloured plastic office rulers can act as scintillator?
Not much of a discrepancy.
I have a galaxy s3 the app seems to work rather well, i wish there was an inbuilt scale that can be brought up when requested that could show what a safe dose is compared to the readings that you have got. in terms of safety this is a good idea because if you have a known comparison of what is safe to compare to your own readings, it may stop someone from being exposed to not safe levels. as it is, i have seen 40-60 cpm and have no idea if this is normal, or not normal backround radiation, i wish there was something in the app i could compare the results too so i would have a better idea of the strength of source materiel. (40-60 cpm were found on a rainwater runoff leading to a drain), with fukushima now becoming a problem in the northern hemisphere, a comparison chart of safe and unsafe levels is a must on the phone. *****ATTENTION***** I have discovered there is governmental interfernce on this app, they are adjusting the sensitivities and denying you a full truthful count, will you please use your own scientific results to create a bombproof version that cannot be adjusted, and gives results based on research for each device. This is too important to let go of, thank you.
I Love It!! Rolf is a genius. I've wanted a working rad counter since I was a boy. Definitely responds to an old radium dial watch. My Galaxy Tab A 9.7" SM-T550 Android 6.0.1 tablet is not on the calibration list, maybe it will be added someday. :-) It does not work on my Oreo smartphone.
I've been enjoying this app for a few years now. It's fun to keep an eye on the science around me, and it's sometimes useful as well as fun.
Have tested and seems to work well. My proposed additions/mods: Making it able to talk to a photomultiplier tube. Can be done with appropriate changes. Putting spectrum plot on a separate full size screen. Could it work with a scintillator with appropriate attachments? To see only Xrays, etc.
Works fine. Not sure about accuracy, but tested in an airport x-ray machine which caused a CPM spike as expected.
This is nice. I served in the US Army on my NBC team and I can verify that this works. I tested this with my smoke detector and some fly ash and it it worked similarly to the radiation detectors I used in the army. BTW. My phone is a ZTE Warp 7 and I use the rear camera with some foil sandwiched between two pieces of electrical tape mounted under my protective case for my phone.
Not a novelty! Not sure on accuracy or sensitivity but it worked a treat. My wife had treatment where she took radioactive iodine for a thyroid condition and the count showed at least 20 times the amount of back ground radiation near her throat as expected. I placed a small layer of aluminium foil held over the lens by tape. Make sure no light gets in i.e test background count with and without a light shining on it.
This app works. Some people complain about the front camera being used for the app, but this can be changed by going into the settings and turning the frontcam 'off.' Hit 'menu' to get to the settings.
Good app, I test it with x-Ray Gama and is working. I will like to have the option to run in the background, and to run with the screen off. That will keep down the temperature of the screen and save battery. I wpuld like to kept ithe app runing in background and check it by the end of my day..
app works. I get a linear dose response from various CS-137 sources. however it is glitchy and sometimes freezes or dies when switching from front to back camera. please update software functionality.