Take the 2-minute tour ×  I was wondering the other day an X-ray
detector (like the ones used at airports) can detect gamma-rays
lets say from a sample of uranium. I know its all electro-
magnetic waves but I'm really unsure about how it works in
practical terms.   Now out of curiousity, if you got an beta-
radiator, might that go unnoticed?  share|improve this question
The issue with betas is going to be range. The machines
presumably work in air rather than vacuum, so the distance beta
travel before ranging out is relatively short. In most of the
designs I envision they range out before they are detected.
Alphas are stopped long before they leave the luggage. –  dmckee
Apr 30 '11 at 3:53 add comment  3 Answers  up vote 1 down vote
accepted  Short answer to the title question: yes.  They are
both species of ionizing photons, and you use the same set of
mechanism to detect either band. Typically hodoscopes (perhaps
based on fiber and high gain photo-diodes), multi-channel
plates, or silicon strip detectors.  Th