Patent ID: 6768116
Filing Date: 2004-07-27
Classification: G01T

Abstract:
A system for detecting and measuring one of a concentration of physical and chemical properties of a target material within an environment of interest, said system comprising:a testing facility having a data processing system disposed therein; and a monitoring device disposed within said environment of interest and operatively coupled to said data processing system, said monitoring device comprising: a detector having a housing defining a chamber, a collector disposed in said chamber and a sensor electrically coupled to said collector, said housing having at least one opening for allowing said target material within said environment of interest to enter said chamber, said collector for measuring one of a number of ions and gamma radiation generated by a decay of said target material within said chamber, and said sensor for selectively measuring changes in an electrostatic potential of said collector in response to an accumulation of said generated ions and said gamma radiation; a transmitter for transmitting said measured changes in said electrostatic potential to said data processing system; and a receiver for receiving signals from said data processing system, said signals including parameters employed by said sensor in said selective measuring; wherein said data processing system selects said parameters from a plurality of parameters in accordance with said concentration of said target material determined by said data processing system from previously transmitted measured changes in said electrostatic potential.