What type of radiation detector uses scintillation to detect radiation?

A scintillation detector is specifically designed to use the phenomenon of scintillation to detect radiation. In scintillation detection, certain materials emit flashes of light, or scintillations, when they interact with ionizing radiation. These emitted light flashes can be captured and converted into an electrical signal, which provides a measurement of the radiation present.

Scintillation detectors are commonly used in various applications, including medical imaging, environmental monitoring, and nuclear physics research, due to their sensitivity and ability to measure a wide range of radiation types. The selection of the right scintillation material can optimize the detection for specific energy ranges, making this type of detector versatile and powerful in radiation measurement.

The other options, such as the Geiger counter, ionization detector, and temperature sensor, operate based on different principles. For instance, a Geiger counter measures ionizing radiation through gas ionization, while an ionization detector relies on the principle of ion pairs created in a gas by radiation. A temperature sensor is unrelated to radiation detection altogether. Thus, the use of scintillation is unique to scintillation detectors, distinguishing them in their ability to detect radiation.