The demand for alternative energy sources has been increasing day by day. In addition to titanium and zirconium, radiometric studies are primarily concerned with the search for uranium, thorium, and potassium. There are about fifty naturally occurring radioactive isotopes. Instruments used to explore for radioactive minerals show the number of release counts over a fixed period of time. The standard unit of gamma radiation is the Roentgen (R), which corresponds to the amount of radiation that produces about 2X10 power 15 ion pairs per cubic meter at standard temperature and pressure. Radiation anomalies would be expressed in terms of micro roentgen per hour. Geiger-Muller counter, scintimeter, gamma ray spectrometer, radon emanometer, etc. they are the main instruments used to study radioactive minerals.
Compared to other instruments, the Geiger-Muller counter is cheaper and easier to use, but its use is limited to terrestrial studies, since it responds only to beta ray emissions. The detection chemicals, such as argon, water vapor, and alcohol or methane, are kept in a sealed glass tube.
The scintillation meter is the most efficient and useful for measuring gamma radiation. The mechanism is that certain chemicals, such as thallium-treated sodium iodide and lithium-derived germanium, convert gamma rays into light energy, so they scintillate.
Radon is the gaseous radioactive element. It does not form compounds with other elements and therefore moves through various types of structural features, such as faults, joints, and also through subterranean pore spaces, either as a single gaseous element or dissolved in the bodies of underground water. Radon is a product of the radioactive decay or decay of uranium, making it a useful guide to detecting deeper deposits of uranium. The radon-emanometer is also being used to map structural features such as faults that facilitate the transport of formed radon to great depths.
Most radiometric surveys are being conducted from the air. Radiometric data must be supplemented by data collected from magnetic and electromagnetic surveys. Depending on the size of the deposits, the speed of the helicopters can be altered. The height of the flight is usually about a hundred meters. The data collected is generally interpreted in qualitative terms.
Radiometric surveys are also very useful in geological mapping processes, as different lithological differences can be identified based on variations in their radioactive signatures.