Artificial radiation belt studies with a fission beta-ray source

The magnetic trapping of electrons from recent highaltitude nuclear testing resulted in a flux of high-energy electrons whose spectrum is believed to be quite similar to that from uranium undergoing fission at equilibrium. A reactor facility using a foil under such conditions has been assembled to study the response of a Geiger counter to a fission BETA spectrum for various absorbers. This facility has also been used to measure the fission BETA response of the background counter in an Injun satellite counter assembly, and to measure the pulse-height distribution from a detector similar to that used in the Telstar satellite. (auth)