INTRODUCTION
Since its discovery in 1958 the technique now generally known as Solid State Nuclear Track Detection
(SSNTD) has, over the last few decades, become a popular and wellestablished
method of measurement in a large number of fields involving
different aspects of radioactivity or nuclear interactions. The reasons for its
widespread use include the basic simplicity of its methodology and the low
cost of its materials, combined with the great versatility of its possible
applications—as will become clear in what follows. Other important factors
include the small geometry of the detectors, and their ability—in certain
cases—to preserve their track record for almost infinite lengths of time
(indeed, mineral grains in geological and planetary materials less than a
millimeter across can, by suitable treatment, be made to reveal the billions of
years old record of their radiation history). The fact that the detectors, in
Handbook of Radioactivity Analysi