Observing Muons in the Classroom

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Observing Muons in the Classroom
Presented by Howard Matis hsmatis_at_lbl.gov
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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What are Cosmic Rays?

• Charged particles from the cosmos
• Protons, alpha-particles, heavier nuclei
• Energies can go up to 1020 eV (energy of 50 mph
  baseball)
• At 1010 ev - 1000 per m2/s
• At 1019 ev - 1 per km/s
• (energy of old style tv 103 ev)
• Origins, sun, other stars, supernovae, other
  catastrophic astrophysical events

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How they interact in the earth
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A Classroom Detector
Scintillators
Phototubes
CBLinterface
Been to all continents but one. Hint, not
Antarctica
Circuit Board
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How it Works
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Measurements

• Cosmic Rays
• Flux and direction of cosmic ray
• Rough energy analysis (use absorbers)
• Singles Mode
• Measure radioactivity
• Mathematics
• Measurement of a random phenomena
• Describe statistical significance of a
  measurement

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Measure rate on earth and air
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The Detector Finished
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Summary

• Cosmic rays are part of our life
• Do particle physics in classroom and outside.
• See www.lbl.gov/abc/cosmic.
• You can build it, learn, and have fun.