system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: why does a Geiger Counter have that distinctive sound when detecting radiation instead of just beeping the intensity?
gpt
Radiation particles striking a gas filled vacuum tube create a "spark" (keeping it simple for a 5 year old). The tube is hooked up directly to a speaker so you're hearing the actual noise. By not introducing another layer of circuitry to transform the no3ose into a beep, you keep the cost and complexity down. First Geiger counters were early 1900s when technology was more limited so the simple but effective design has stuck.