ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the different types of particle detector which have been developed and the various ways in which an incident particle may interact with the material from which a detector is constructed. The original use for particle detectors was for the observation of the particles produced from radioactive materials and in experiments on nuclear and particle physics and cosmic radiation. Before considering any subtleties of individual detection processes, the chapter explains the basic problem of detecting a single particle. Particles are generally classified as being fermions or bosons. In order to detect a particle there must be sufficient energy to cause interactions which produce a detectable signal, but for the detector to be at all efficient there must also be a large probability that a particle will interact in this way. The probability of a particle making any interaction is conventionally expressed in terms of a cross-section.
