Apparatus (sectioned) for thermoluminescent dating of pottery, comprising a heating chamber, a photomultiplier and a gamma particle counter with a spare gamma counting ring

The photomultiplier converts thermoluminescent (TL) light to an electric current which is amplified.

By the judicious use of filters the unwanted infa-red radiation and the red and yellow light of background incandescence in the oven is eliminated, allowing only blue light to reach the cathode. Here the light is converted to electrons and the signal is amplified in the photomultiplier cells.

This electron signal is fed to a chart recorder producing a glow curve or plot of TL intensity versus temperature.