From the pocket dosemeter and the photographic emulsion to the superheated drop detector and the single particle calorimeter - such is the wide range of detectors for nuclear radiation in this textbook. Emphasis is placed on simple but thorough explanations of the underlying physics for each detector and on the applications to which these detectors can be put.

Introductions to the types of radiations concerned and their interaction with matter lead to descriptions of well-established devices such as ionization chambers, proportional and Geiger counters, scintillation counters and semiconductor detectors, and other more recent types such as semiconductor drift chambers and dark matter detectors. A separate chapter discusses sources of noise and their influence on the energy resolution achievable with detector systems, and another the electronics used with radiation detectors.

This book has been written by two university physicists who have worked and taught in the field for many years. It is intended for final-year students and new postgraduates as well as all established workers who use sources of ionizing radiation.