Description: Gas proportional counting tube.

Caption: The anode is tungsten and the cathode is made of copper foil coating the glass tube. It is not known what the gas mix is but early tubes were filled with a "polyatomic" argon-alcohol mix, which made the tube faster by preventing a charge building up on the cathode. The gases were at partial pressures of 10 cm and 1 cm of mercury respectively.

Introduction: Often simply called a Geiger counter this instrument is named for the designers of the first radiation counter. This Geiger-Muller counting tube or 'stomach counter' has rubber tubing which enabled it to be swallowed. It is a slightly more refined version of GLAHM 105969. When in the stomach this miniature tube could measure the rate absorption of radioactive tracers from the blood stream that had previously been given by injection.

Background: Possibly the first 'stomach counter'. It was designed for Sir Charles Illingworth, Regius Professor of Surgery at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow. It was used by Lenihan and Stephens in a clinical trial in 1951-53 on patients that were about to be operated on for gastric ulcers or were convalescing from such operations. However, there is another contender in for that title (see GLAHM 105969).

Reference: Lloyd, John. "Atomics and Atomic Technology", Vol. 4, No. 7, July 1953 pp. 165-6

Reference: Lenihan, J. M. A. & Stephens, J.. "Gastroenterologia *Seperatum* Vol 81 No2 Proceedings of the British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting at Edinburgh, 6th and 7th November, 1953", 1954

Historical Context: Commissioning - Who: Sir Charles Frederick William Illingworth (1899-1991)

Historical Context: Commissioning by Sir Charles Illingworth - When: 1949

Historical Context: Commissioning by Sir Charles Illingworth, Western Infirmary, Glasgow University - Where: Glasgow, Scotland

Historical Context: Design - When: 1949 - Who: Curran, Samuel Crowe, Professor, later Sir (1912-1998) Physicist and first principal of Glasgow's Strathclyde University

Historical Context: Design of the Geiger-Muller counting tube - When: 1928 - Who: Geiger, Hans Wilhelm (1882-1945) German physicist - Who: Muller, Walther

Historical Context: Design of the Geiger-Muller counting tube, Keil University - Where: Germany

Historical Context: Design, Department of Natural Philosophy, University of Glasgow - Where: University Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland

Historical Context: Discovery of the photovoltaic effect - Who: Becquerel, Alexander Edmond (1820-1891) French physicist and chemist

Historical Context: Discovery of the photovoltaic effect by Becquerel - When: 1839 - Where: Paris, France

Historical Context: Invention of the counting tube - Who: Rutherford, Ernest, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (1871-1937) New Zealand born physicist - Who: Hans Wilhelm Geiger (1882-1945) German physicist

Historical Context: Invention of the counting tube by Rutherford and Geiger - When: 1908 - Where: Manchester, England

Historical Context: Manufacture - When: 1949-1952 - Who: Lloyd, John (Jack) Travers (fl.1948-1981)

Historical Context: Manufacture, Department of Natural Philosophy, University of Glasgow - Where: University Avenue, Glasgow, Scotland

Historical Context: Use in medical research - Who: John Mark Anthony Lenihan (1918-1993) British clinical physicist and J. Stevens

Historical Context: Use in medical research by Lenihan and Stephens - When: 1950-1952

Historical Context: Use in medical research by Lenihan and Stephens, Western Infirmary, Glasgow University - Where: Glasgow, Scotland

Historical Context: Use of a self quenching polyatomic gas in counting tubes - Who: A. Z. Tost

Historical Context: Use of a self quenching polyatomic gas in counting tubes by Tost - When: 1935 - Where: Germany