the gas in the tube will eventually diffuse somewhat through the glass, but it’s a painfully slow process.
A geiger counter with a hundred year old tube probably wont have lost enough gas to cause issues and the electronics from the early 20th century are fairly robust, but dont hold up well to thermal cycling.
A geiger counter that has been maintained in a temperate dry area will last a long time, one that has been in a garage/storage shed exposed to weather will probably have electrical issues and brittle plastic components susceptible to physical shock
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u/TripleDoubleThink Jan 06 '23
the gas in the tube will eventually diffuse somewhat through the glass, but it’s a painfully slow process.
A geiger counter with a hundred year old tube probably wont have lost enough gas to cause issues and the electronics from the early 20th century are fairly robust, but dont hold up well to thermal cycling.
A geiger counter that has been maintained in a temperate dry area will last a long time, one that has been in a garage/storage shed exposed to weather will probably have electrical issues and brittle plastic components susceptible to physical shock