Remote Sensing Techniques

Demonstrations and practical ways to help students understand some of the remote sensing
techniques.

Radiometric Surveys:
There are three common types of radiation: alpha, beta and gamma radiation.

• Alpha radiation cannot penetrate more than a few centimetres of air.

• Beta can travel through several metres of air or a few millimetres of rock.
• Gamma rays are able to penetrate through a few centimetres of soil or rock and then travel
a hundred metres or so through air to reach detectors on an aeroplane.

Thus the only useful remote radiation measurements involve gamma rays. Even so, such surveys
can reveal only surface deposits of radioactive material such as uranium ore, or some less
radioactive deposits, such as mineral sands.

Teacher Demo:
In a large science tray