The Geiger-Müller Counter of 1928

Summary

Ancillary to the emergence of nuclear physics in the 1930s, this important instrument soon became one of the most famous of all time. Yet little is known of its origin, how it differs from the Geiger Counter (the Spitzenzähler or point counter) of 1913, or what role Walter Müller played in the invention of the Geiger-Müller counter of 1928. One of the most interesting features of this history is the absence of any ‘somking gun’—any specific novum for the assignment of credit unless it be the gradual discernment and differentiation of the instrument's capabilities vis-à-vis the limits imposed by scientific knowledge.

Presented to the History of Modern Physics programme held at Cambridge, England, July 1982, sponsored by the British Society for the History of Science. A preliminary report was presented at the Norwalk meeting of the History of Science Society on 26 October 1974, and findings were presented in a lecture held at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, on 22 November 1976; published as ‘Die Erfindung des Geiger—Müller-Zählrohres’, Deutsches Museum, Abhandlungen Berichte, 44 (1976), 54–64. I am grateful to Dr. Walter Müller, who died in 1979, for allowing me to interview him at his home in Santa Barbara, January 1974, and for the lengthy loan of his laboratory notebooks (which at his request I have since deposited in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of History and Technology, January 1977). Dr Müller also kindly provided me with valuable excerpts from his correspondence. For further details about Müller and his family, I am indebted to his brother Dr Ing. Wolfgang Müller of Neuhain near Frankfurt. For access to and permission to use Hans Geiger's record of this discovery, I am indebted to his son Klaus W. Geiger of Ottawa, Canada. This record was published in 1982 as part of the centennial celebration of Geiger's birth in 1882.

Presented to the History of Modern Physics programme held at Cambridge, England, July 1982, sponsored by the British Society for the History of Science. A preliminary report was presented at the Norwalk meeting of the History of Science Society on 26 October 1974, and findings were presented in a lecture held at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, on 22 November 1976; published as ‘Die Erfindung des Geiger—Müller-Zählrohres’, Deutsches Museum, Abhandlungen Berichte, 44 (1976), 54–64. I am grateful to Dr. Walter Müller, who died in 1979, for allowing me to interview him at his home in Santa Barbara, January 1974, and for the lengthy loan of his laboratory notebooks (which at his request I have since deposited in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of History and Technology, January 1977). Dr Müller also kindly provided me with valuable excerpts from his correspondence. For further details about Müller and his family, I am indebted to his brother Dr Ing. Wolfgang Müller of Neuhain near Frankfurt. For access to and permission to use Hans Geiger's record of this discovery, I am indebted to his son Klaus W. Geiger of Ottawa, Canada. This record was published in 1982 as part of the centennial celebration of Geiger's birth in 1882.

Notes

Presented to the History of Modern Physics programme held at Cambridge, England, July 1982, sponsored by the British Society for the History of Science. A preliminary report was presented at the Norwalk meeting of the History of Science Society on 26 October 1974, and findings were presented in a lecture held at the Deutsches Museum, Munich, on 22 November 1976; published as ‘Die Erfindung des Geiger—Müller-Zählrohres’, Deutsches Museum, Abhandlungen Berichte, 44 (1976), 54–64. I am grateful to Dr. Walter Müller, who died in 1979, for allowing me to interview him at his home in Santa Barbara, January 1974, and for the lengthy loan of his laboratory notebooks (which at his request I have since deposited in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of History and Technology, January 1977). Dr Müller also kindly provided me with valuable excerpts from his correspondence. For further details about Müller and his family, I am indebted to his brother Dr Ing. Wolfgang Müller of Neuhain near Frankfurt. For access to and permission to use Hans Geiger's record of this discovery, I am indebted to his son Klaus W. Geiger of Ottawa, Canada. This record was published in 1982 as part of the centennial celebration of Geiger's birth in 1882.