A new type of particle counter, made sensitive by the application of a pulsed electric field, is described. The counter is comparatively slow, having a sensitive time in the 100 ns region and a recovery time of some 100 ms. Nevertheless, on account of its simplicity of construction, stability of operation and extemely low cost, the counter appears to be a useful tool, especially for complex experiments involving large detection systems. Examples of possible applications to particle physics experiments and to nuclear physics (ionization measurements) are given.