Relative Light Output Evaluation of Different Commercial Plastic Scintillators

An evaluation of light emitted from commercial plastic scintillators, when bombarded with radioactive particles, was done using photomultiplier tubes with S-11 and S-13 responses. Fourteen plastic scintillators, 1-in. long, were compared and eight different kinds were used to study light output as a function of length. It was found that light output does not fall exponentially with increasing length but rather as the sum of two exponents. A proposed method of analysis leads to two different absorption coefficients. Two possible explanations are given for this phenomenon.