Patent ID: 8592771

Claim:
A method of minimizing orientation dependence of an automatic drift compensation of a scintillation counter having a rod-shaped scintillator, a cosmic radiation energy spectrum being analyzed above a predefined energy threshold value for the automatic drift compensation in that a counting rate of particles having an energy deposition in the scintillator greater than an energy threshold value is controlled to a constant desired counting rate value, the method comprising the acts of: determining a first integral energy spectrum of the cosmic radiation by using the scintillation counter while the scintillator is in an upright position; determining a second integral energy spectrum of the cosmic radiation by using the scintillation counter while the scintillator is in a horizontal position; detecting a point of intersection of the first and of the second integral energy spectrums; setting the energy threshold value of the drift compensation to the energy threshold value pertaining to the point of intersection; and setting the desired counting rate value of the drift compensation to the counting rate pertaining to the point of intersection.