Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

NRL-designed berylium window x-ray ionization chamber similar to those used in the early 1960's on the Explorer VII, Vanguard III and Solrad I satellites. The berylium window in this detector was designed to admit x-ray radiation. The charges generated by the impact of the photons on the interior gas then traveled to the oppositely charged anode electrode. Additional collisions of the ions and electrons with filling gas on their way to the electrodes generated more charges and in effect amplified the signal. This artifact is part of a collection of original high-energy detectors from the Naval Research Laboratory (see Catalogue numbers 19880001000-19880017000). It was transferred to NASM in 1987.

 Display Status

This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Boeing Aviation Hangar
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type INSTRUMENTS-Scientific Manufacturer Naval Research Laboratory
 Dimensions 3-D: 5.1 x 4.4cm (2 x 1 3/4 in.)
 Materials Aluminum cover
Beryllium window
 Inventory Number A19880012000 Credit Line Transferred from the Naval Research Laboratory Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.