Resources

Over the past few years I??ve designed a number of radon detectors; building them is an opportunity to work on multidisciplinary projects with a social benefit. Worldwide, naturally occurring radioactive radon gas seeps from rocks and soils, where it can accumulate in buildings at hazardous levels. The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 14 percent of lung cancers are due to radon exposure. In my work at Carleton University, in Canada, I??ve used custom integrated circuits and specially programmed microcontrollers for my designs, but recently I wondered how I could make a detector with spare parts lying around my basement.