Scintillator
What Scintillator means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA, OCR.
Definitions of Scintillator
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Scintillator in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
A layer that absorbs incident X-rays and re-emits visible light photons, acting as a converter between X-ray and optical energy.
A large crystal, commonly sodium iodide doped with thallium, that gamma photons strike to produce many visible-light photons.
Absorbs energy from an incident atomic particle and re-emits visible or near-visible photons.
Topics that use Scintillator
- Image detection and enhancement (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Photodiode (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Diagnostic methods in medicine (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- Annihilation
- Band gap and photon energy
- Barium meal
- Clinical diagnosis from count maps
- Clinical workflow and data storage
- Coincidence detection
- Collimator
- Computer
Using Scintillator in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Physics questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge