Programmable ion counter

This paper presents an effective method for measurement of different sizes of negative ions in air using Gerdien condenser. A potential difference is applied across Gerdien, air ions of the same sign as the voltage are repelled from the outer electrode and attracted to the central electrode. These ions form a small current which is measured to get the ion count. But according to atmospheric changes, the air consists of different sizes of ions at any given time. So for measuring them, different biasing voltages need to be applied to the Gerdien. In previous methods the bias voltage needed to be adjusted manually only for a particular size of ions. Hence a new novel approach of programmable ion counter is developed, which uses programmable power supply. Thus all sizes of ions can be measured automatically results show that all three types of air ions - small, intermediate and large can be measured automatically, according to atmospheric changes, without any manual adjustments.